


A Love Like No Other

by MasterRay5



Series: The Lost Moonlight Fics [2]
Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Amnesia, Child Abuse, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Romance, Sex, Silver Millennium Era, Underage Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-30
Packaged: 2020-10-05 07:15:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 32
Words: 54,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20484965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MasterRay5/pseuds/MasterRay5
Summary: In an alternate Silver Millenium, a young man loses his identity becomes a thief and isolates himself from the world. Meanwhile, a princess is abused by her intended fiancee and seeks to be rescued. What trials await these two lost souls?Original Author was Jupiter Princess. Not mine but I'm saving it from obscurity.





	1. Author Notes

My Author Notes: 

The following story isn’t mine. In fact, if someone figures out who it belongs to I will gladly give them credit and link to their other works. Still, it was a story I enjoyed back in the day and when I discovered it when I was going through some old folders I decided to share it with the fanfiction community. 

Even though its not mine, I do need to point something out. This piece is going to be over 50,000 words, has multiple chapters, and saved as a giant block of text. As I went about trying to add paragraphs for easier reading I realized this piece could use a few edits to make it more presentable. A few repeated phrases, inconsistencies from paragraph to paragraph once in a while, and when the character name is BOLDED know this is who the POV belongs to. No major change in the overall theme or content of the original work will be altered though. I even decided NOT to change Serena/Darien into Usagi/Mamoru even though these names are more common than the original dub. 

So give me some time and enjoy a very touching piece of Sailor Moon fanfiction, featuring everyone’s favorite couple. 

P.S. Mature tag because there will be sex...just much later on. 

**UPDATE**I have discovered the original author of this fanficiton. They went by the name Jupiter Princess. I have yet to find if they did any other work.

Original Author's note PLEASE STOP AND READ THIS!!!! I realize many of you just skip to the story, but you NEED to read this note. 

This is a love story. This means that it talks about sex and other mature subjects. If this is going to offend you, do not read this story. I did not write much past, "they made love" in most places. 

However, I did write a few hentai parts, for those of you who like that in a love story. It is not incredibly graphic when compared to true lemons. There are also some other mature topics such as violence, abuse, and molestation. I am telling you this because I just don't want any letters saying, "I was shocked at the material." K? That's all the necessary stuff. 

The rest is just FYI. This story takes place in the Moon Kingdom. It is my rendition of how Serena and Darien fell in love. I am the type of person who is, shall we say, less than happy about the way Darien treats Serena in the DIC series. He is very cold to her, but in his heart, I picture him as being warm. 

I also am not pleased with the way Serena is considered such a ditz. She is the Princess of the Moon and even after she almost single handedly defeated Queen Barryl, she got no respect. I was bitter. So if you are looking for a ditz, you won't find it here. Just thought I would tell you. 

As far as the Sailor senshi go, I have not yet had the privilege of watching the Japanese Sailor Moon's, only DIC's, so I do not know everything about the outer senshi's traits. Sorry. I kinda, more or less, stuck to what I knew. 

Uh, I think I'm supposed to say something like the character's (Serena, Darien, etc.) were not made by me but by Naoko Takeuchi, Bandai, Kodansha, and all their related company so don't sue me for taking credit. Cuz I'm not. It's just a story. Don't have a cow. I will be happy to add other people's names who deserve credit if they so desire. Well, that's it. Enjoy!


	2. The Crash

Chapter 1- The Crash

**DARIEN **

I ran quickly down the corridor to my room. I could tell she was right behind me. I was not about to be beaten again. My heart was pounding so hard, I thought it would pump out of my chest. I tried to run faster, but I found myself, only slowing down from exhaustion. I knew she was going to catch me. But I had to try to get away. It was not right what she was doing. If only there was somebody there who could help me. But there was not. I was alone during this time of fear. The kind of pain my nanny inflicted on me was uncalled for. But then again, I should have been used to it by then. 

** **** **

** **** **

She did not seem to give any mind to the fact she was beating an nine year old child, much less the Prince of Earth. Mrs. Natalie Wildman was her name. My mother had hired her when I was only three. The tasks that come with being the Queen of the Earth, were a bit overwhelming. Mother had to deal with the Ambassadors from eight different worlds. In addition, she had to come up with solutions to the problems on Earth. Probably most trying of all was attending every social function there was on any world at any time. 

The Earth had to make an appearance at every occasion and Father was too badly needed on Earth all the time to attend all but a few of the functions. It was considered an insult of the highest if a Queen or King from another planet invited the Earth royalty, but nobody from Earth showed up. Therefore, Mother had to rush off to every banquet, every birth, every Ambassador or Delegate's wedding, etc... With these kind of hours, it hardly left my Mother time to effectively raise a well-bred, well mannered son. So to fill in for her lack of time, she hired Nanny Wildman. 

Unfortunately, my Mother did not bother enough to get to know the Nanny well before she hired her. Do not misunderstand me. My mother loved me very much and only wanted the best for me. But unfortunately, like most abusers, they put on an innocent, sweet facade to the world, and are completely different to the person they abuse. In Nanny Wildman's case, my mother never saw a hint of the cruelty in her, and thought that I was just a mischievous little boy. 

The first time Nanny Wildman's brutality was bared was when I was four. I spilled my dinner on the floor when my elbow bumped the plate. Some of the sauce splattered on her dress, as she was standing behind me, quizzing me on how to have a proper meal. I slowly raised my eyes to meet hers and when I did she looked at me for the first time so viciously that I hardly recognized her. She seized my arm and practically dragged me upstairs and scolded me in her room. "I have done nothing but care for you, and you repay me with this?" She pointed to the stain in disgust. She went on about how she would have to change now. She grabbed another dress from her closet and proceeded to change in the adjoining bathroom. She warned me that I better still be in the room when she got back. 

When she came out she was in a fresh gown and threw the one with the sauce in the laundry basket. Then she reached for the handles, spun around and glared at me, laundry basket in hand. "Now Darien, this is what happens to little boys who ruin girl's dresses!" With that, she lifted the basket high and slammed me in the head with it. The blow was enough to make my head throb and make me dizzy, however not enough to do permanent damage. 

I collapsed in the corner and began to sob, tucking my knees into my chest and burying my head. She sent me to my room and told me if I told anyone she would do something far worse. Then she picked me up and put me in my bed without finishing dinner. This kind of punishment continued on. Finally, when I was six, she hit me so hard that I had noticeable markings. Before this incident, she had always been careful to hit me places that were covered by clothing. She was also careful not to do anything a month before doctors appointments. But this time I got a black eye. 

I went to my mother, even though I knew if she didn't believe me Nanny Wildman would beat me for it. My Mother was in her chambers, preparing for a dinner party. The dinner wasn't for another two and a half hours, though. I found her sitting at her dresser, applying make-up. She was in her favorite burgundy dress. Her room was mostly deep red with huge drapes covering a large bay window. I walked over to my Mother nervously. 

"Mommy, Nanny Wildman hits me. She's hit me since I was four. I just don't think I can stand it anymore. She said if I told you, she'd hurt me. She's scary and she doesn't love me the way she tells you she does. Please, could we get a new Nanny?" 

My mother set down her brush and looked at me. "She hits you does she? I will look into this immediately." She turned to the door. "Shannon!" 

The servant entered the room. "Please send me Mrs. Wildman. I wish to speak with her." 

"Yes, Your Majesty." she said, and proceeded down the hallway. 

My mother sent me to my room. I sat on my bed, holding my pillow and watching the clock until she came back. An hour later she walked in and sat down on my bed next to me. She looked me in the eye and placed her hand on mine, and then spoke the words that would change my life forever. 

"Darien, sweetie, Mrs. Wildman told me you got the black eye when you were jumping on the bed. She claims she asked you to stop, but you didn't. You fell and hit your head on the bedpost. She was hysterical when she heard all the horrible things you said about her. She started crying, Darien. You really hurt her feelings. She loves you very much and would never hurt you. I think you owe her an apology. She has done nothing but care for you. She has helped me out tremendously. You simply can't go around lying like this about people. It hurts their reputation. Now, I want you to go to her quarters with me and apologize." 

I had learned from past experiences that there was no arguing with my mother. Nanny Wildman's ability to cry on command had completely tricked my mother into thinking I was a liar. Needless to say I was beaten the next week, as to not rouse suspicion. That was the last time I ever tried to tell anyone about the abuse. 

Now, I was racing to my room. She was still beating me, now more severely because I was older and able to endure more physical pain. She didn't do anything that would last longer than a week, most of the time. She was smart, I'll give her that. 

I reached my door and almost slipped when I tried to stop. I managed to open the door and stumble in. I locked it from the inside just in time. I heard her screaming at me outside though. I was safe for now. Not only were the beatings more brutal, but they were now over the silliest discrepancies. This time, I had snuck in a snack from the kitchen, to my room, and she found the wrapper in the trash. 

She called me on it in the dining room. I bolted before she had time to grab me. I had successfully avoided a beating, but I would get it double the next time. It was then that I realized I had to get out of the palace. Leave my home. But where would I go? 

I was very smart and agile for my age. My teachers had already taught me algebra and simple biology. I was already an eloquent speaker and I had memorized much of Earth's history. I was not a genius, I just liked to lose myself in books of old times and escape my present situation. I hated class, however. My experiences with Nanny Wildman had made me bitter against most adults. I did much better teaching myself. Alone. Secluded. The one thing I had not been taught yet, was how to use my powers that I supposedly had since birth. Apparently, it was not common practice on Earth to start teaching me until I was ten. I most certainly didn't feel very powerful. If I did, I would have rid my life of those teachers and Nanny Wildman. I just wanted to be left alone with my parents on Earth. 

There were a few people who I didn't mind, though. However, they were all on other planets, and all my own age. First, there was the Prince of Saturn, Micah, who was nine. He was my friend but could get really mean sometimes. I most enjoyed the company of my best friend, the Princess of Jupiter, Lita, who was six. Then there was Princess Mars, and Princess Pluto, Raye and Sharon who were always up to something. Princess Neptune and Uranus, Michelle and Alex pretty much kept to themselves. Princess Venus, Mina, always hung around Lita. They fought sometimes, though. Princess Mercury pretty much got along with everyone, when her head wasn't stuck in a book. Her name was Amy and was by far the most intelligent of all of us. 

Then there was my crush. Princess Serena, of the Moon. I knew I was in love the moment I met her. Micah was making fun of me because I was new. I started crying, only being six. It was the first time I had met any of them. Then Serena came in the room. The prettiest two year old I had ever seen. She saw me crying and came over in a very two-year-old fashion and gave me a hug and a kiss. I yelled, "Eeeew! Cuties!" and ran away. But I liked it. She had tried to make me feel better and I had never had anyone else my age around. It meant a lot. I spent the rest of my childhood poking her and throwing dirt and things at her, to her annoyance but deep inside, I thought she was cute. 

I soon realized if I ran away, I would never see any of my childhood friends again. But this abuse was too much to handle. It was then that my mother knocked on my door. The noise startled me so badly, I jumped and shook. I had been deep in thought and at first, I thought it was Nanny Wildman trying to get in. 

"Darien, are you in there?" I climbed off the bed and raced across the room to open door. 

"What is it, mother?” I asked. I gazed up into her eyes. I almost hoped that she saw the fear in my eyes and the tear streaks that I was sure were still on my cheeks. That way, I could tell her. Tell her everything. But I knew I could never try to tell her again. It would only backfire and I was well aware of what Nanny Wildman would do to me if she found out that I had tried to tell on her again. 

My Mother did not notice my expression, which was probably a good thing. "Darien, I need you to accompany me downstairs. We are entertaining some guests from the Moon and we want to introduce you." 

How thrilling. More interplanetary delegates. From the Moon this time. I had to be introduced to every person who called on Earth royalty, as they would one day have to deal directly with me, when I reached the age of seventeen. That was when I was scheduled to take over my Mother's responsibility dealing with the delegates and ambassadors that came calling. 

She took my hand in hers and we began to walk down to where Father was. I took a deep breath in. I always loved the way Mother smelled. She always smelled like cinnamon. I never knew why but I enjoyed the smell as we walked down the stairs. 

When we reached the parlor I caught the end of the conversation that the delegates were having with my Father. 

"Then you will be attending Queen Serenity's banquet, Sire?", one of them asked. I knew which banquet they were talking about. It was the banquet that Queen Serenity threw every year for all the Royalty, Ambassadors and Delegates of the Moon Kingdom. She did this so that everyone would get better acquainted, although nobody ever did. All the adults did was lie and make small talk. They were formal, polite, but incredibly insincere. If one said, "I love your gown. Who designed it?" it translated to, "I want to know who had the insanity to make that wretched thing, so I can avoid them." 

I always found this quite amusing. My Mother would say something there and then tell the truth when we got back. I liked these functions though. It was another chance to see Lita... and of course Serena. Ah, my puppy love! 

"Yes, yes. Of course. But shall Darien's Nanny be accompanying the Queen and I?" 

The delegates looked at each other and then back at my Father. "Ah, Sire, we would think it best to bring the Prince Darien, um however, his Nanny is not of Noble blood. We would suggest leaving her here, Your Highness." 

"Very well then." It was then that my Father turned and saw my mother and I standing in the doorway. My father signaled to us and we entered. He introduced everyone and started on about something, but my mind suddenly kicked into high gear. If these delegates were from the Moon, that means they came on a ship, since only royalty had the ability to transport. If I could make it to the launch site and get on the ship I could…

"Isn't that right, Darien?" My father asked, seemingly out of nowhere. I glanced up at him and the others. All eyes were on me. It was quite unnerving. 

"Yes, Father.", I answered, hoping it was the right response. My mother let go of my hand and sat down by my Father on the sofa. With my Mother there now, they began discussing the details of the aforementioned banquet. It was then that I managed to slip out, unnoticed. These type of occasions were especially important to the Earth. 

We had not always been a part of the Moon Kingdom. It was but ten years ago that Queen Serenity had revealed herself and the rest of the Court to my parents. My Mother had just become pregnant with me at the time. It came as a great shock to Earth that there was in fact life on other planets. We had a lot of catching up to do. They did not take me with them when they visited other planets until I was six. That of course being the first time I laid eyes on Serena. I suppose my parents were a bit afraid of the Moon Kingdom and wanted to make sure I would be safe there. 

If there was one good thing that came out of this abuse, it was that it had forced me to learn to be quick, quiet, and agile for sneaking around. I felt my heart start to pound as I crept down the first hallway toward the staircase. I often forgot how large the palace was. Normally, Nanny Wildman restricted me to only using my room, the dining hall, and my Mother's room. It was a rare occasion that I was permitted to visit the outdoors. I could only gaze at the yards through the large window in my room. It overlooked a garden. 

Sometimes, I would curl up on the sill and just sit there gazing for hours. There were a few times that I had been permitted outside, though. Most of the time it was when Lita came to visit. We would sit in the garden, picking flowers for our parents, or playing tag or hide and go sneak. But there was no time to think of the garden. I kept low until I reached the foot of the stairs. My body began to shake. I could hardly keep from falling down. I gripped the railing and slowly, I ascended two flights before reaching the launch site. Upon entering the site, I quickly ducked down behind a plant. There were a few servants bustling around the ship. Cleaning it, I suppose. I realized I would need a distraction. 

Luckily, one came for me. Nanny Wildman came storming into the room demanding if the servants had seen me. They replied they had not. She then ordered them to stop what they were doing and to help her look for me. All three left close behind Nanny Wildman. I grinned. I was free! 

I bolted over to the ship and entered it. There were two beds towards the back with cabinets underneath them. They contained pillows and extra blankets. In front were the navigation systems with two chairs. They had a little kitchenette at the head of one of the beds. This ship was meant for week long missions, I concluded. It does not take more than an hour to get to the Moon, though. Hopefully, they were not making any other stops. 

That's when I heard someone enter the launch site. I quickly squeezed in one of the blanket cabinets and shut the door behind me. The two delegates boarded the ship. Before I knew it, we took off. I heard one of them say we were headed to the Moon, which gave me great relief. I did not know how long I could stay crunched up in this cabinet. Sure it was soft... I had pillows and blankets surrounding me. But I was hot. I began to squirm after a while. I thought this flight would never end! 

About an hour later, that had felt more like an eternity, I heard them getting ready to land. Suddenly, their voices changed from routine, to panicked. All I knew is we were going down way too fast. I heard screams and the deafening blare of the engines. I was frightened. I pictured my body laying in the wreckage, lifeless. I had been trying to escape danger and had instead put myself in the middle of it. I screamed until my lungs were raw. My heart raced and my ears screamed from the pain of the quick decent. I was going to die, I knew it. Then came the crashes and jolts. I felt my body being tossed around and a fear in my heart that was indescribable. I smelled smoke and heard explosions, as well as the terrified cries of the others in the ship. On the last jolt I was thrown out of my cabinet. I was knocked unconscious for who knows how long.


	3. Born Again

Chapter 2- Born Again 

**Darien**

I opened my eyes. Wherever I was, it was dark. My brow throbbed with pain, as did my neck and back. I saw a pool of blood where my head had been as I tried to pull myself up. I realized I had been bleeding from my left eyelid and across my eyebrow. I touched the cut to see if I was still bleeding.

I examined the space directly ahead of me. There was food that had been spilled from the shelves on the floor, a small fire to my right, wires and mangled machinery everywhere, and dents and holes on the sides of the craft. There were two bodies slumped over in the helm chairs, both of them lifeless. I drew my breath in. I realized I was the sole survivor. I felt almost guilty, but at this point, I was too unnerved to care. I slowly managed to get to my feet. 

"Where am I?" I said aloud, supporting my weight on the side of the ship with my left arm. Then I realized something very bad. Not only did I not know WHERE I was, but I did not know WHO I was. I struggled to recall anything. All I could remember were a few emotions. I was scared and I had been trying to get away from danger. Any more than that was a mystery. 

"Well, you certainly didn't do a very good job of getting away from danger," I said, looking around myself. I got down on my knees and managed to crawl out of the mangled ship though one of the holes in the side. I looked around. I was in a heavily wooded area. I panicked. I did not know what to do. I clenched my fists together and I decided to start walking. 

After what seemed like hours, I came upon a beautiful building. It was far off, but my heart raced. Finally, I could get help! I started running toward it. It had fountains and flowers and seemed to be well lit by a pink shimmer above in the sky. I figured this must be the palace of whatever planet I was on. It was then that two people walked by in very fancy clothes.

I was about to approach them when an eerie feeling washed over my body. I didn't know why, but I got the feeling that I should stay away from them. I almost hated them, but as far as I knew, I had not even met them. 

It was then that I looked down and studied my clothing. It was, or rather had been, very fancy as well. Maybe I did know them. I decided to steer clear of the palace for the reason that maybe the palace was what I had been trying to get away from. I took one last look and darted across the path leading to the gates and headed down a dirt road that eventually led to another building. I had been walking a good hour before I reached it. It was dark, but maybe it was open and could provide shelter from the cold. 

I went to the front door. Locked. I went to the side door. Locked. I peered in and saw it was a Library. I went to the back. No door. It was there that I sat down, exhausted, in the grass and huddled against the back wall. 

"Now what?", I asked myself. I put my right hand on my throbbing forehead and my left hand down on the grass. Except, It didn't land on only grass. My fingers curled around a cold ring. It was large and covered in dirt and grass. I tried to lift it but it was caught on something. I managed to get to my feet and began to tug. Then to my amazement what appeared to be a hidden cellar door opened up. 

"The ring must have been the handle to the door." I deduced. Yeah, Yeah, I'm the next Sherlock Holmes, I know. But how often do you find hidden doors leading underground? It hadn't been opened for years, I could tell by the way the grass had completely grown over it. 

"Well, it's shelter," I said. I proceeded to descend the staircase just inside the door. There was a flashlight sitting in what looked like a torch holder. I walked down to it, clutching the railing for dear life, as I was very tired. I figured I had lost too much blood and was now weakened by it. I took out the flashlight when I reached the seventh step. When I took out the light, the door shut above me. I clicked on the light and slowly went down the stairs. I found a light switch at the bottom of the staircase. I switched it on and a bulb in the middle of the room flickered to life. All I saw at this point was a bed. I was so exhausted from walking I went and collapsed it.

I figured I had better tend to this cut on my head. I reluctantly pulled myself up and went to a table that was in the center of the room. There I found an old rag. I looked around. I saw what looked to be an adjoining bathroom. I found a light switch just inside, but the bulb was broken. I took in the flashlight and went to the faucet. I turned the water on. There was a gurgling sound followed by a gush a brown liquid. I waited to see if it would clear. When it got to a pale yellow I wet the rag. I looked up, into a mirror and saw myself for the first time. 

I would have looked okay if it wasn't for the ugly cut across my eye. I cleaned it, (well, with the yellow water, cleaned it) and went to collapse on the bed, but not before switching out the light. 

I awoke the next morning. I got up out of bed groggily and looked around. I reached for my flashlight. I walked over to the light switch and turned it on. It was then I examined the room more closely. There were many furnishings. A couch, a writing desk and chair, a coffee table in the middle of the room, and of course the bed. Along the walls were newspaper clippings of the building. I walked over to the wall. The clippings were old and yellowed. Some of them unreadable. I read a few that were legible and found out the building I was in was a community center. Then I noticed two doors on the opposite side of the room from the stairway I had first entered. 

My curiosity grew like a wildfire. I began to run to one of the doors but slowed my pace because my head hurt too much. I opened the door on the right, revealing another stairway. I scaled the stairs only to bring myself to a sort of tunnel. I figured that when the stairs ended, I was at ground level again. The tunnel before me could not have been more than five by five. 

I began to crawl. It had light coming through somehow. The tunnel had a sudden drop as it opened. It became about twelve feet high and only about three feet wide. I jumped the drop which was only about three feet down. I looked into where the light was coming from. I got to a place where I saw what looked to be like a dance class. I was standing there behind only glass where they could surely see me. Frightened, I stood there just looking. 

Then, the whole class turned towards me. But nobody appeared to see me. No reactions like, "Who are you, and what are you doing here?" No funny looks. Nothing. 

The music stopped. "Okay ladies!" the instructor shouted. Line up by the mirror. The class walked over to the other side of the classroom and turned away from me. It was then I realized I had been holding my breath. I let it out and took a deep breath. I realized this was a one-way mirror and that they couldn't see me. 

I continued down the tunnel, taking great care not to make the slightest sound. They couldn't see me, but I bet they could hear me. The talent of sneaking around seemed to come naturally to me, but I couldn't remember why. 

I descended a short flight of stairs until I reached another tunnel, this one not as long. I saw some light ahead and sped up slightly to see where it came from. I looked up and peeked through what appeared to be a set of vents. 

I was in a kitchen. The smells of the room were so intoxicating. I realized for the first time how hungry I was. I did not know when the last time I had eaten. It felt like days ago. 

"This place must be a whole lot bigger than I thought," I whispered to myself. It was apparent I could crawl through the walls of the entire community center. I doubted anyone else knew about the tunneling. I had found my very own way to get around unnoticed. I felt the excitement begin to rise in me. I also felt hungry. My stomach growled so loud I was sure someone could have heard. I peered through the vent to get a better look around.

I saw three cooks with several large crockpots. They appeared to be cleaning them out over a large sink. I waited for the cooks to leave. They locked the doors (one leading outside and the other to an adjoining room). I pushed up on the vent and was quite surprised at how easily it lifted. I raced to the refrigerator and grabbed (of course being nine) the large vanilla cake sitting in the center. My mouth began to water. I figured I should take this back to the room I had slept in. I was about to make off with the cake when I heard the key in the door. 

I quickly shoved the cake back in the refrigerator and raced to an open cupboard. I looked around and found myself to be where the spice and preserves were stored. The cook seemed to be having trouble getting the key in the lock. I debated making a dash for the vent. 

Finally, the door opened. One of the cooks entered shouting, "Okay, I'll get the salt. Lousy Louise. Always forgettin' somethin'." 

I saw the salt next to me and panicked. I opened the door and dropped the salt out of before the cooked turned to the cupboard, at least I hoped it was before. Just then the man stumbled and hit the cupboard with all his weight. My heart leapt to my throat and I held my breath. Not even noticing the salt, the cook grabbed the door and yanked it open. He took a bottle contained something green and shut it. 

I had seen the man staring straight at me but he didn't even say a word to me about being in the cupboard. The man tripped and stumbled back towards the door. Then he shouted, "Ya know, Louise, I gotta lay off the beer. I just thought I saw a dirty kid in the cupboard." 

I almost laughed. Thank goodness for drunks! After the man eventually managed to lock up the kitchen again, I crept out of the cupboard cautiously. I went back to the refrigerator. I reached in and got the cake. Quick as I could manage, I dropped it into the vent from which I came and climbed in. 

I closed the vent and pushed the cake in front of me until I was able to stand. This break came when the short stairway was within reach. I picked up the cake and ascended the stairs and retraced my steps until I got back to the room I now called home. 

I didn't have a knife or silverware so I just grabbed a fist full of cake and shoved it in my mouth. It was delicious. But then, I had a feeling worms would have been delicious at this point. I thought I would die of hunger. 

I kept eating until I had devoured half the cake. Once I was full, I journeyed back into the tunnel, passing the vents in the kitchen until I had to climb a ladder. At the top, I found himself on a large platform hidden by a curtain. I peeked through to find I was an over a stage. 

This platform was too high for it to have been used by tech crew and was obviously hidden to anyone, including the actors. It looked like part of the ceiling. On the other side of the platform, I found another part of the tunnels. I walked over to it and continued down. This time the tunnel roof was well over six feet above my head.

I soon came to the library I had seen the night before. I passed it and ventured down the hall until I came to a waist-high platform to my left. The tunnel continued past it but the platform had several vents in it. I got on the platform and looked down through the vents into the library I. I figured the platform I was currently on was the ceiling of the Library and the tunnel I had been going down was near the roof in height. 

After peeking in a while into the library I climbed back to the tunnel and continued my adventure. The walkway began to slant downward and I saw another light. I heard the music of the dance class starting up again. When I reached the light's source I had to stop. It was the top part of a one-way mirror of the dance room, except this time it was on the other side of the room and the mirror came up to my waist. I looked down at the dancers and then realized I had made a full circle. 

I started walking again and soon came to a very long stairway and descended it. I recognized the door at the bottom of the staircase as the door on the left of my room. I re-entered my room, coming out the opposite door I entered. I was pleased. 

"How nice," I said to myself. "I guess this is home now. I have everything. A kitchen that will always have free food. A library, where I can get books to learn. A dance room that will let me hear music. And I can watch all the plays for free from the platform. I'll live here forever." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've decided instead of being a part of "Smutember" where writers are writing different prompts 2 a week, I've instead decided to make sure to have a chapter done of this story every day. The last day will be whatever is left. I'm hoping to be done with this piece by the end of September. 
> 
> Stay tuned and leave kudos and comments. Lets me know working on this is worth not paying attention to some of my other projects.


	4. Growing up

Chapter 3- Growing up

**DARIEN**

The Library was probably my favorite place to spend time. At night I would sneak out and confiscate books from it and take them back to my home to read during the day. It is how I furthered myself and my mind. I read numerous books. Math, the Sciences, Astronomy, Psychology, Anatomy, Biology, Chemistry, Zoology, and so on.

I soon learned I was on the Moon and in no time I had digested all of its history. The current ruler was a certain Queen Serenity. Call me crazy, but I could have sworn I had met her before my accident. I educated myself on the cultures and histories of the eight planets, finding Earth particularly interesting. Maybe I came from there. It was either Earth or the Moon. 

I was woken up every morning by the sound of the music of the dance class. It was faint, but not quite faint enough. Quite annoying as far as I was concerned. My daily routine was to get up, eat breakfast (which I would steal from the kitchen the night before, to the aggravation of the cooks), read yesterday's paper (the library got it delivered for it's achieves), read my books, and later catch the rehearsal of the plays that were always being performed. I, of course, never went in the auditorium itself. Why would I when I had my own personal viewing platform? 

Afterward, I would steal my next day's food supply, considering by the time rehearsal was over, everything else had been closed up. They might be longer rehearsals, but I was most intrigued by the theatre. 

From all of my research, I had come to one conclusion. I hated people. History contained nothing but greed, war, poverty, murder, and adultery. Why anyone would think a man was great only because of how many others he could kill or how many nations he could conquer, was beyond my comprehension. I wanted nothing to do with such creatures. Especially royalty. Royalty seemed so overrated. All they did was sit around and cause trouble. They were so proper and with all their formalities, it's amazing they got anything accomplished. 

I learned quickly how to cope with my situation. I gave up trying to remember my past less than a year after I first began to live at the community center. It just didn't matter all that much to me. I spent the first few weeks spending every minute of every day trying to come up with clues. After all the hard work and effort, I was still no closer to remembering anything. It was frustrating to say the least. 

So I just gave up. I realized that it just wasn't that important to me. I really didn't care who had brought me into the world, considering all I COULD remember was the feeling of fear and danger. I figured my past was not something I wanted to remember. 

By most people's definitions, I was a fairly cold-hearted person. To coin a phrase, I cared for nothing and for no one. I relied strictly on what I had and needed, not what I wanted. I became able to almost shut out emotions entirely. I thought emotions to be small things which carried way too much weight. I could not believe a society based around and upon such short, whimsical, and pointless things such as emotions could even survive a day. All they ever did was hurt people in the end. Anger, hatred, greed, lust, and jealousy seemed to be the most common. Very rarely did you see any great changes happen as a result of love. And even love, in marriage, was not solid. Emotions lead to heartbreak and I for one did not see the point. I planned never to befriend, never to love, and never to marry. 

Besides, what was the point of feeling things if you weren't going to express them? Especially in royalty, humans tend to not say what they mean. A woman will approach another woman and say, "That is a lovely dress. Who designed it?" when she really means, "Who designed that wretched thing, so that I may avoid them in the future?" It was a concept I never grasped, and I did not wish to make the attempt. I had done my best in setting myself apart from everyone else, but at the same time, I was not ashamed of what I was. 

I found humanity to be an interesting race, and although I will take this secret to my grave, I almost want to be accepted by them. I wanted to be considered one of them, just more enlightened than most, I guess. I, for the most part, was good about keeping quiet enough so that no one would hear me. 

However, on occasion, I had been heard bumping around, exciting people's imaginations. They began to say I was a ghost and I had died during a theatre performance and now I haunted the place. I was amused by this reputation and was just grateful no one had discovered my home. I had only been visually spotted four times. I gathered I looked rather frightening to most people. As I grew I stole outfits from the theatre's costume inventory, not to mention a patch for my right eye. The scar on it never healed, and I liked the way the patch looked. I was disgusted by the scar on my eye. I loathed it. Although I highly cherished my uniqueness and independence, I still was part of humanity, and I saw nothing shameful in wanting to look like one. 

The first person to see me was a little girl who was peeking through one of the vents and called out there was a boy behind them. That was when I was eleven. 

The strangest time was when I was fourteen and a woman saw me late at night in the Library. She thought I really was a ghost and was certain I was going to eat her or some such ridiculous nonsense. She fainted and everyone told her she was just dreaming when they found her in the morning. 

Another incident, I was getting food from the kitchen when a cook walked in. He was pretty upset about my being there and grabbed a knife yelling, "You! You're the one stealing food!" He chased me outside and around back. Luckily, I was able to get into my home and close the door before he got there. I was only ten then. That's when I decided that the true nature of humans was a violent one. I hated all people until someone taught me otherwise, many years later. 

As for the fourth incident, well, that's a long story. I was eighteen at the time. I had adopted the nickname Tuxedo Mask because of my patch and because the garment I wore was a tuxedo since thirteen. (I found it to be the most logical piece of clothing simply because I could add or take away layers due to temperature as needed.) That's where my real story began. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: A switch to Serena's POV and a little bit of the origin behind this story.
> 
> Huh, a guy who has totally sworn off love? Almost as if he hadn't found the right woman yet. HINT


	5. My Story

Chapter 4- My Story 

**SERENA**

"Mama, why must I go play with this earth boy? I like Mina and Lita just fine," I whined to my mother as she did up my dress. 

"Because, Serena, you are the Princess of the Moon Kingdom. And you need to get to know the Earth Royalty as much as I do. Besides, you will have fun. Just think of him as a new friend. Now I know you will be nice to him, and be that little Princess I taught you to be. Make him feel welcome. You know how you felt when you were new." 

Mother was of course right. I would treat him nicely. I did remember what it was like on my first day. When I met Darien he was just like me on my first day. Off in a corner crying. I went over to him and kissed him to make him feel better. He just yelled something about cuties and walked away. Well, at least I could tell mama I tried. 

I spent the rest of my time playing tag with Lita and Mina, my best friend. Soon Micah joined the game and knocked all of us over. That was the end of that. Mother raised me the best she could. As far back as I could remember, she always made time to read me stories before bed and tucked me in after rocking me in her rocking chair. It must have been hard for her, having the responsibilities of the whole universe on her shoulders. But she never showed it. She was always kind and gentle and loving towards me. I suppose she got rid of a lot of her work load by dividing it up between the members of her court and council (a.k.a. the rulers of the other planets). 

She and I would take long walks in the flower gardens and remark on how beautiful they were. We would go for late-night swims in the fountains and walks along the palace balconies. Yes, Mother always had time for me, no matter what. 

When I was five, I found the greatest love of my life... ice skating. Princesses Mercury, Neptune, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter invited me to go with them to the rinks on Pluto. I took to the ice like I had been doing it for years. I went on to be one of the best ice skaters in the kingdom. Mother signed me up for lessons next week. I was a natural. I loved it. 

The night after my first lesson I got home hoping to tell Mother all about it. But when I came to her room, she was not there. I went around the palace calling her name. One of the servants heard me and came in to see if she could help me. I told her I was looking for my Mama. The servant said Mother had to go to Earth on urgent business. Something having to do with Darien. She took me to Aurora, my Mother's friend and she said to put me on a ship and to send me to Earth at once. 

When I arrived on Earth, I soon learned Darien was missing. They questioned at the time of his disappearance with my Mother's help. See, my Mother had the power of telepathy, so when people were questioned she could easily tell if they were lying or being truthful. 

It was through this line of questioning that Darien's parents discovered a woman named Natalie Wildman had been abusing him. It was deduced Darien probably ran away to escape this torture. They questioned her further to see if she knew where Darien might have gone. However, she truly had no idea where he had gotten off to. She was executed the following morning. 

Darien's mother took it the hardest. She blamed herself for what happened because Darien had apparently come to her, telling her of the abuse. She, therefore, felt responsible for his disappearance. She wouldn't eat, wouldn't sleep, and locked herself in her room for close to a year. She had her meals brought to her, that is when she was eating. 

Meanwhile, they conducted an Earth-wide search for Darien. They even investigated a ship that crash-landed on the Moon but found no sign of Darien. 

After four years, the search was called off and he was pronounced dead. It was a pity. He was my friend and I missed him terribly. 

When I was six, I began to be coached on the ways to use my powers. No other royalty starts training until they are ten because their power is not as great as mine. Because my power is so strong, it develops in my body faster. Thus I needed to learn to control it, or else I could have done some serious damage. By the age of eleven, I had mastered telepathy and telekinesis (that means moving objects with my mind). I also learned how to disable attackers with thought and how to hit them with a surge of energy I could produce at will. 

My next step was to start the mastery of the silver crystal. The Silver Crystal was the basis of how our hierarchy worked. Since the royalty of the Moon were the only people who could use the full power of the crystal, it was quickly decided they would be the supreme rulers of the Kingdom. As a result, the hierarchy went like this. First, there was my Mother, the Supreme Queen Serenity of the Moon Kingdom, Daughter of Calliope and Ambrose. Then came me, Princess Serena of the Moon Kingdom. I would not come into the position of second in command until age eighteen, but I was the most guarded and most powerful child alive, thanks to my mother, who was very protective of me. It was said that as powerful as my Mother was, I would one day exceed even her power tenfold. 

Next came the Moon Court. The most influential members were of course the Kings and Queens of the other planets, followed by their sons and daughters, who would one day be their predecessors. Venus carried a little extra weight for my Mother had married, the now Queen of Venus's, brother, Delian. Delian had died while in battle. 

The next people of the Court included the Ambassadors of the planets. These were people who were, for lack of a better explanation, the right hands of the Kings, Queens, and their children. They were above the Delegates who basically carried out the rulings of the Royalty, but still had their say in what went on and gave reports back to the Court on how particular ideas and projects had worked. 

My Mother had been the strongest ruler so far. She seemed to grow in power with each passing year. I suppose she was the strongest because she had ruled the longest. Mother was well over five hundred years of age, but her physical appearance reflected a woman of twenty-two. All of the royalty was like this. The only way for a King or Queen to die was to be killed or to voluntarily end your life. 

I was mature for my age. Most royalty turns out that way. When I was thirteen, it was decided that I should be engaged to marry Micah of Saturn. I was not pleased with this choice. He had never gotten along with me and he was much too big and violent. He had such a temper I was scared to death of him despite the fact I could easily win a fight with him using my powers. However, I did not think I should try anything of the sort. After all, he was five years my senior and I did not think it wise to challenge someone with much more training. 

I did not inform my Mother of my feelings because I knew she desired the marriage to work. I did not wish to disappoint her. 

The day we were presented to each other was the worst day of my life. I was fourteen and had not seen him since I was nine. We were left alone in a room together so we could 'get to know each other better'. The only problem was he wanted to get to know ALL of me better, which he was not the least bit discreet about. 

It started like... 

"It is a pleasure to see you again, lovely Princess," He bowed. 

"The pleasure is all mine, Prince Micah," Yeah, right. I curtsied. Micah was a very attractive man. He had dusty blonde hair in a mushroom cut, broad shoulders, a seemingly firm stomach and strong arms. His legs were too long and lanky though. And I did not care for his gray eyes. 

He crossed the room to a couch and sat down. He studied me for a moment. I felt my body tensed as he did so, wondering what his expression meant. I could have found out in a split second by reading his mind but I had been taught not to read other's thoughts unless they knew I was. Then he patted the pillow next to him. 

"Come and make yourself more comfortable. Shall I pour you a drink?" He said reaching for a tall bottle of Cider. Reluctantly I crossed the room. I quickly realized his intentions were not pure ones. 

"Do you not think it is a little inappropriate for me, a young lady, to be sitting on a couch with you, a young man, in room with no one else in it?" 

He looked up at me shocked. Then I saw his face twist in such a way that filled me with so much fear I could not breathe. He had become so cold I felt like I was looking evil itself in the face. He stood and grabbed my shoulders. He shook me hard and brought me very close to his face. I was so frightened and caught off guard I did not try to fight. My heart began to pound with fear and I felt my body tense up even tighter. 

"Listen here, Princess. The only reason I agreed to marry you is because you have no other choice. There are no other Princes for you to marry. It is, therefore, my given right to use you and your power to further myself, considering I am doing you a favor. One cannot help but notice you are very beautiful Serena, and I have every right to you and your body. You will give me what I want, and when I choose to have it." 

With that, he kissed me roughly. I was disgusted and out of breath. I felt like I was being smothered and I wanted nothing more than to getaway. I had been kissed before, but never like this. The other boys were just puppy love and I had merely pecked their lips. They were probably too intimidated by my Mother and my power to have tried anything more. I also knew I would not end up marrying them, so why set myself up for pain? 

Then I felt one of Micah's hands release my arm and grab my breast. He tried to pull down the top of my dress. Enraged I pushed him away using my energy. Micah flew across the room landing on his backside. 

"How dare you!" I screamed as I backed away. 

"Ah Princess," Micah started calmly, methodically, and sneered. He was taunting me. "If you want a fight, you can have one. The Queen of Saturn started training me when I was only seven. I have far more practice than you, you can be sure. But never mind. I do not need to have you now. I can wait until after the wedding. That way you can dread it coming. A far worse punishment in my opinion than taking you here. But just remember, you can't say anything to anyone. After all, we would not want to disappoint Mommy and the Court, would we?" 

Flustered, I glared at him, viciously with my fists clenched at my sides. 

"No. I will tell, my Mother. She would never want me to be violated like this by a man I am supposed to one day love!" I screamed, tears now streaming down my face. 

"Well, in that case, I will tell everyone that you came on to me," Micah replied nonchalantly. 

"My Mother will be able to tell you are lying!" 

"Serena... I can pull off a simple telepathic block. The only reason it works on commoners is because they do not have any telepathic powers. Our bloodlines do. It is what separates them from us. Your Mother, as powerful as she is, will not be able to tell." 

"But my mother knows me better than that!" I cried in desperation. 

"Does she now? Serena, you have never been around a man before. She will think it is possible you came onto me." 

He was right. I had only one choice for my husband considering I was bound by law and tradition to marry a Prince. The other Princesses could marry whomever they chose. This was an asset Lita definitely took a great deal of advantages of. She had dated so many men. Mina, a few. Basically, because she felt compelled to as the Princess of Venus, the planet of love. Raye had men falling all over her but was swatting them off like flies, while Amy had a few admirers but really had only dated one guy, a bookworm like herself. Helen was not yet old enough to date, Sharon was too busy with being the guardian of time and all, and Michelle and Alex just hung around each other a lot. There was no other possibility of a person I could marry. 

It was then that a servant entered the room and with the door opened for me, I turned and ran out, sobbing. When I was almost out the door, I heard him say, "It was my pleasure talking to you, dear. See you soon. I will call upon you so we can start our wedding plans." 

He cackled as I left, leaving a very confused servant standing with a tray of food. For the next month, I did not leave my quarters. My Mother asked me what was wrong and I simply told her I was feeling poorly and I wished to be left alone. Micah had tried to call upon me twice. However, he found his invitations twice declined. 

I was furious at him, furious at my life, and furious at myself. How could I have allowed this to happen? I felt so dirty from the way he touched me. I must have taken a dozen showers that night. But it was pointless. There was nothing that I could do about what was done or what was going to be done with my future. I felt so sick every time I thought about the life ahead of me. 

It was one late afternoon, my mother came to my room with a broad smile across her face. "Serena, you know how you love the theatre?" 

I turned my head slowly toward her. "Yes. Why?" I asked tentatively. Normally when my Mother had that look on her face, she had volunteered me for some activity without telling me so that way I could not say no. 

"Well, I thought it would be fun if you were in a play. You love watching them so much, I knew you would enjoy playing a role. You have always loved the stage, Serena. Your ice skating competitions and all, I know you will love it. Please say you will go. It will give you a chance to meet some of our subjects. It is at the community theatre. Oh, Serena, you shall love it, I promise." 

I sighed. I could never say no to my mother after she had gotten herself all worked up about something. She was so excited and she wanted to see me happy again and out of my room. She looked so pathetically hopeful that I agreed. 

As it turned out, the play was fun. We were to perform a play called Brigadoon. It was from Earth. We all had a wonderful time working on our lines and making mistakes during rehearsals. Luckily, Mother had signed me up as a girl named Jasmine, so with the help of the disguise power pen, I was not recognized by any of the people in the theatre. Instead of my long gold locks and blue eyes I had short black hair with green eyes. This was good, for I would have never experienced what it's like to be a normal person doing a play. 

One night, everyone else had left the theatre, but I stayed behind. I loved looking at the sets and just taking it all in. I sat in the audience and just pondered the significance of what I was doing and what I was a part of. It was then I heard somebody walking up behind me. I was a bit startled. I thought everyone else had left. 

I jumped out of my seat and ran to the stage, where I could oversee everything clearly. There was a man walking up the center aisle. I couldn't make out his face. My heart stopped. I was struck with fear as I realized who it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No means no guys.


	6. The Saga Begins

Chapter 5- The Saga Begins 

**SERENA**

It was Micah. Mother must have told him where I was. Now what? I have nowhere to go, nobody's here, and he looked mad enough to kill me.

"There you are my little Moon girl."

This was the way he speaks to me? His future wife? His superior in rank? Then the lights came on in the theatre, responding to the movement sensors. I had nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. I felt like a caged bird about to be pounced on by a cat. I began searching for an escape route. 

"Oh, I am so sorry miss. Have you seen Princess Serena? I am Prince Micah of Saturn, and she is my fiancé. I was told by Queen Serenity she was here. Do you know where I might find her?" 

I studied at Micah a minute, puzzled. I looked down at myself. It was only then I realized I still looked like Jasmine. I quickly realized I should bow if I was a subject. I did so and replied, "Yes my good Prince, I believe she is in the dressing room." 

I thought maybe if I could convince him Serena, or I rather, was not there, I could get him to leave. He went to the dressing room and I was about to leave the stage when he came and grabbed me from behind. I let out a scream of terror and struggled to gasp for air as he began to tighten his arm around my neck, cutting off my air supply. 

"Thought you could fool me, did you now, Serena? Next time do not leave your disguise pen on top of your stuff. Someone might see it and figure out who you really are." 

With that, he raised the pen above my head and made me change back. I looked like myself again. He whipped me around and shoved his tongue down my throat. I felt energy rising inside of me and I blasted him with it. It was enough to get him off me but I stumbled back and fell. I wanted to scream and run for my life, but I was so scared, I could not scream. I could not get my body to respond to my commands to get up and run. My heart rose to my throat as he approached me, a look of pure hatred across his face. 

"Now Serena did I not warn you about that." 

He is going to kill me, was all I could think. He picked up a nearby glass bowl. It was a prop for the wedding scene. He raised it high and was about to smash it into my skull. I put my hands above my head. I closed my eyes, waiting for the pain. 

The next thing I knew, I heard a loud crash, a thud, and then Micah landed on top of me, causing me to bang my head against the wall, knocking me out cold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided since the chapter is so short I would take the time to rant. So basically Micah here is an abusive individual trying to use force to make Serena his own. Gee, where have I heard that before? Prince Diamond anyone?
> 
> I'm able to get pairings most of the time as long as they aren't out of nowhere. I even get, Usagi and Seiya (I said GET, not like) but Diamond and Usagi feels wrong on so many levels. There is the "bad boy who can be changed" trope but he straight-up tried to RAPE her in EVERY canonical version of the story. Just seems a bit icky in my book. Anyways, kudos and comment, longer chapter tomorrow.


	7. Introductions

Chapter 6- Introductions 

**DARIEN**

My real story began when I was eighteen. It was a typical night for me. Except for this time I didn't wait until the rehearsal was over to go to the kitchen. Normally I wait so no one walks in on me but my hunger got the better of me.

However, on this particular night, I ended up not getting my food, despite my earliness. I was in the kitchen when I heard a girl scream. I realized there was barely anyone left in the theatre and nobody should be rehearsing anymore. 

I quickly got to the top of my platform overlooking the stage. When I arrived I saw a girl who was about to be killed by man who was obviously furious. I felt rage rip through my veins. I absolutely hated violence, especially when the attacker had such an unfair advantage. This was one emotion I never managed to suppress. 

I jumped on him. He turned just in time for me to hit him. He lost control of the bowl and it fell and shattered off stage as it flew out of his hands. 

Unfortunately, he collapsed and landed on the girl. She was knocked out with a small cry, but he was still awake. Mind you, this man was not the first person I had injured. 

When I was seventeen, I caught a man following me through the vents. I pretended not to notice him until I got to my door where I grabbed a knife I had stolen a while back for just such a purpose and waited. I wouldn't have really stabbed him if he didn't pull a gun on me. This was the first person I had intentionally hurt. I could not have people just barging into my home. 

There was no way the man would have kept my secret. I killed him and brought him upstairs after the theatre closed. I left his body on the auditorium isle. He was found the next morning, but since they did not know where I lived, or of my existence, they could not identify the fingerprints and could not find a murder weapon. It was not something I was proud of doing, but it was necessary to keep him from informing anyone about me. 

I quickly turned the attacker's face up and began punching him repeatedly. He took out a knife from his pocket and stabbed me in the shoulder. I got the knife away from him, picked him up, and threw him off stage. I did not know if he was dead but anyone who beats anyone else for no good cause deserves to die. I did not know why I felt so passionately about batterers and abusers. 

I held my shoulder. I had never felt so much pain. I saw the deep red blood on my fingers as I removed my hand.

I turned my attention to the girl. She was very beautiful, but she gave me the strangest feeling of deja vu. I knew I couldn't just leave her there in case her attacker woke up. 

I groaned in annoyance. Maybe there was another way to ensure her safety? Besides, I didn't even know her. She had probably provoked that man and gotten him angry, anyway. I battled with my judgment for several minutes, just staring at her. 

I clutched my shoulder. I would clean it out later. Finally, I decided I had better bring her with me. I took her around back and down into my home. 

She was the first guest I had ever had. Mind you I was not happy about this arrangement at all. If she woke up and recognized me as 'Tuxedo Mask', I had no way of insuring she didn't reveal my secret. Other than to kill her, that was. 

I could not believe I was housing one of those violent creatures. She was definitely rich. Which of course meant I was dealing with a spoiled rich snob. I growled to myself. If she woke up and found me here, not doing anything for her, she would probably report me to others. It was, for this reason, I tended her and tried to get her to wake up. 

I laid her down on my bed, got her a cold rag, and placed it on her forehead. I covered her with a blanket as her shoulders were bare. I took off my jacket to tend to my shoulder in the bathroom. I unbuttoned my shirt and ran a rag under the water, which by now was running clear, although not warm. I pressed the rag against my shoulder the best I could, considering the man had stabbed me from the back. It hurt to strain so far. 

I replaced my shirt, even though it had a bloodstain on it and I went back into my room. I picked up a book and read on the couch until I drifted off. 

She stirred eight hours later. (I had also confiscated a clock a while back from the dance room. They had two anyway.) At first, she was very groggy. Then things seemed to set in with her. She turned her face slowly to the side and looked at me and was about to scream but I got to her first and closed her mouth by putting my hand over it. 

"Don't scream. If I didn't hurt you while you were asleep, why would I now?" I took my hand away and backed away from the bed to the table. She stared at me for a moment. 

Then it all came out at once "Who are you? What is this place? Why am I here? Where am I? Did you kidnap me? What happened to Micah? Please tell me Micah's not here! Did he send you to keep me here for him?" 

"Shut up" was my only reply. I could not believe the number of words this girl was spilling forth in such a short time. "When the Center closes you may leave. I do not want to take the risk of anyone finding out where this place is. I'm not going to hurt you. I saved you, damn it! Show some gratitude." 

I was not going to baby this little rich spoiled brat as her parents and everyone else probably did. 

"You saved me? From Micah? Oh thank you!" She ran at me and threw her arms around my neck. AHH! My shoulder! I pulled her off and ordered her to contain herself. Soon she recognized me as Tuxedo Mask from the description given of me by one of her actress friends. She seemed quite surprised as if she had never seen a poor person before in her life. Or it could have been a surprise I was alive and not a ghost. I explained to her she must keep it down. She complied with being fairly quiet but I had little luck in getting her to stop talking to me. 

"So, this is where you live?" 

"Yes it is." 

"Is it not too cold during the winter?" 

"Yes." 

"What do you do for fun?"

"Read." 

“Is that all?" 

"Yes." 

"Why did you save me?" 

"You would have died." 

"Do you know who I am?" 

"No." 

"Do you wish to know?" 

"No." 

"Would you tell me your name?" 

"I don't know my name." 

"You don't know your name?" 

"No." 

"Why not?" 

"I don't remember what it is." 

"Why?" 

I was growing impatient. "Look. I do not wish to divulge the intimacies of my personal life with a complete stranger. For all I know, you'll run right out of here at closing and the next day you'll come in and have told everyone I live here. I will be either out of a home or worse, they will kill me.”

The girl looked at me a moment. She was obviously caught off guard by my brash words. Then she got a calm expression and sighed. She became very practical. "You saved my life. What reason would I have to betray you? From what I can tell, you are harmless as long as you are not provoked. After all, you could have just let me die, or you could have killed me in my sleep. I think I would have had to attack you before you would hurt me, and I sense that you are like that with everyone." 

She sensed. Great. I had rescued the daughter of Ares. Damned gypsy. For some reason, I felt like I could believe her when she said that she wouldn't betray me. It was strange. She looked familiar. Perhaps I had seen her in a play? 

"What is your name?" I asked. I decided to see if I knew her. She had the most beautiful blue eyes and the most gorgeous blonde hair. And her body... exquisite. What I did not expect was the shock she was about to give me. 

"I am Princess Serena, of the Moon Kingdom. I really am grateful for your rescuing me and all. I wish there was something I could do to..." 

She said more but I had heard enough. Now a PRINCESS knew where I was. Royalty, the people who I despised most above all other humans. I felt a burning sensation as the rage at myself enter me. I should not have helped her. Now I was surely going to be kicked out of here. I no longer trusted her to keep my secret. I knew I was doomed now unless I could GAIN her silence. If not, I would have to kill her. A task that could prove to be dangerous and one I was not looking forward to. 

"Your Majesty," I started humbly. "I only ask you not to tell anyone where I live or that I am here. Please. I implore you to speak of me to no one. Do not tell anyone we have met or what happened last night. I fear if you did..." 

"I promise. Nobody will have ever known I was here." 

I turned away from her. I had been right in front of her, on my knees, begging her with my one good eye. I thought I might have just won her over, but I was not entirely convinced and I would certainly not count on this royal brat to keep promises. When I turned, she gasped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is anyone else getting a Phantom of the Opera vibe here or is it just me?


	8. An Act of Kindness

Chapter 7- An Act of Kindness 

**SERENA**

I thought to myself, "Of course I will not tell anyone I was there." After all, he had saved me from that awful Micah. I owed him that. 

"I promise. Nobody will ever know that I was here," He turned away from me, but as he did I saw for the first time the stab wound in his shoulder. It was fresh. The blood had seeped through his thin white shirt. I gasped, "You are injured! It looks bad. Let me help you..." 

"NO!" he yelled angrily. "No. I'm fine. I do NOT need your help." He glanced at the clock. "You are free to go now." 

With that, I was escorted out a stairway that led to the back of the center. When I returned to the palace, I figured I had a lot of explaining to do. 

"So where were you, Serena?" Mother asked. She was not mean about it. More curious, actually. 

"Well, I stayed the night at somebody's house I met in the theatre." 

"Oh, that's wonderful dear. I am glad you made new friends at the theatre." Then Mother turned serious. "Now Serena, I want you to sit down. I have some bad news." 

"What is it, Mother?"

"Micah was attacked by a thief at the theatre last night. He does not remember much and he is not in very good shape. I want you to be extra nice to him. Clear?" 

"Yes, Mother. Crystal Clear." I replied. I was relieved that he did not remember what had transpired that night before. It made explaining things a lot easier. I didn't even really have to lie. I merely said I stayed the night with someone I met at the theatre. It wasn't technically lying, but I still felt guilty. 

I wiped the small line of perspiration that had formed along my brow. This was the first time I had ever attempted to cover up the truth from my Mother. Luckily they assumed it was a thief attack, and Micah's fine clothes had made him a prime target. They deduced the thief found nothing on him of value, and so they left him for dead in the theatre. There was going to be an investigation into the mugging, but Tuxedo Mask must have known how to cover his tracks. After all, he had spent his whole life in that center undetected. 

Then it dawned on me. If Tuxedo Mask was not a ghost, he must have a family somewhere. Where did he come from? Why was he living there? I decided to go to sleep. I looked around my room. I had a huge white satin canopy bed with white drapes, a balcony overlooking the flower gardens and waterfalls, a long white marble dresser with an antique mirror above it, a writing desk with matching chair, a big overstuffed couch and two overstuffed chairs by the window which surrounded a circular coffee table. I noticed for the first time how much I had. I had never glimpsed first hand there were people who didn't have all this. Tuxedo Mask had affected me more than I thought.

I entered my bathroom and realized even It was larger than the room Tuxedo Mask lived in. I had a large, pearl sunken bath with spa jets, a long counter with two sinks against the wall, (the water handles were in the shape of cherubs), and an incredibly long mirror above the full length of the sink. This all sat upon pearl white tile. 

After revealing in the first time the details of my surroundings, I took a long steamy shower and washed my hair with my favorite coconut shampoo. It always made me feel better. I didn't realize how sore I was until the hot water hit my body. 

I got out, got in my satin lace nightgown and curled up in bed. I could not seem to get Tuxedo Mask out of my mind all night. I kept thinking about how lonely he must be. He obviously did not have many friends or talk with very many people. 

"He certainly did not know how to speak to a lady!" I said allowed to myself. Then I thought of the stab wound on his shoulder. He had gotten it trying to rescue me, I was sure of it. The least I could do was bring him some bandages or something. "Yes. I will bring some bandages to him after tomorrow's rehearsal." 

It must have been the longest day of my life. I got up from bed an hour early to be able to sneak into our doctor's office. There is a doctor in the palace in case any of the visiting Court had an emergency. Normally I could have just requested the supplies, but I did not want to have to explain the reason for needing the iodine and bandages. I fully intended to keep my promise I had made Tuxedo Mask and tell no one of his whereabouts. 

Just outside the supply room, I used my disguise power pen and transformed into a nurse. I just walked in and took everything I needed and put it into the duffel bag containing my costume, script, make-up, and incidentals. 

Luckily I did not run into anyone so once I was down the hall, I looked around, transformed into Jasmine, and left for the rehearsal. When I got there our director was having a huge fight with our orchestra. It seems that the music the orchestra had and the music the cast had been practicing was different in several places. They were arguing about which one to use. 

I walked across the stage to the dressing room and began to chat with a girl I met named Molly. Molly had short red hair, green eyes, and an accent that was most peculiar. It was from Earth I knew that much, but it was most interesting. 

Molly and I got along famously. We helped each other with make-up and then went out onto the stage to start voice warm-ups. After running through the first three scenes about ten times each, we decided to break. Everyone went outside, except for me. I wanted to see what the new music would sound like later on. We had 'decided' we should learn the orchestra's music after they threatened to quit. 

As I was following along in my head, I heard a bumping noise coming from what looked like the ceiling. I stopped and looked up, but there was nothing there. 

Maybe that's where Tuxedo Mask is? Is that him? I thought. Now I couldn't wait to see him more than ever. There was just something about him that made me want to be close to him all the time. Well, it's impossible to tell now. There is no way he would talk to me. After all, I look like a completely different person. But I will see him soon enough. 

I glanced at the clock. I only had three hours to go until closing! I started to get butterflies in my stomach. Then I had a thought that sent my emotions to a screeching halt. 

What if he did not wish to see me again? What if when I get there, he yells and throws me out? Should I go or not? 

I thought of nothing else for the next three hours. I had the hugest lump in my throat and began to falter on a few of my lines, whereas earlier, I had spoken perfectly. The moment I had been looking forward to all day, I was now dreading. 

The rehearsal ended early for a change, so I went back to the dressing room after everyone else had cleared out and changed back into my normal self. I took off my shoes and sat down on a folding chair. I started to rub my feet. I had been standing most of the day and they ached so badly, I thought they would fall off. I glared down at my duffel bag. 

"Well, Serena, you were thinking about doing this for two reasons. One, you want to see him again because you think he is exciting. The second, he was hurt trying to save you and you owe it to him to do something to help him. Besides, who says that he will definitely be mad? He might be happy for the company. Maybe we could be friends, even." 

That was that. Even if I had decided it was not worth the risk just to see him one more time, he needed help. He had the wound because of me, and I was the only one who knew about him, so I was, therefore, the only one who could help him. I gathered my stuff and headed outback. I was nervous. I did not have any idea of how he would react. I reached the back of the center. I knew about where the door was. I squatted down and felt for some kind of handle. I could not find it. 

"That's strange, I knew the door was around here," I said aloud. I was beginning to think maybe it only opened from the inside when I got an idea. I sat down, closed my eyes, and concentrated. I kept thinking of the handle lighting up in my mind until I knew my telekinesis had worked. I opened my eyes to discover a yellow-glowing metal ring. I grabbed hold of it and the glow died down. I began to lift it up. This door was heavier than I thought. 

"I wonder what he will say when I walk in..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When you can't get someone out of your head, you know something is special about them. This comes from personal experience. More tomorrow.


	9. Life Changing Annoyance

Chapter 8- Life Changing Annoyance 

**DARIEN**

Finally, I could relax and get some peace and quiet. It had been an interesting day. I had spent most of the time worrying Serena might have told someone and they were going to come in here after me. All I knew was if somebody dared step foot into my home, I would cut them limb from limb with my knife. 

I had not left my room all day for fear that when I got back, I would return to people going through my stuff and waiting to kill me for stealing food, clothes, water... I did not know the reaction people would have towards me. Especially considering my face. I liked the patch, but my eye was the part of my body I vowed to never let anyone see. Even if I someday managed to let someone get close to me, (God, Forbid!) they would never see my eye. 

I shed my jacket and laid it on the couch. I unbuttoned all the buttons of my shirt and grabbed my rag. I filled a bowl with water and went back to my couch and began nursing my stab wound. I thought for sure it was going to take forever to heal, and most likely not correct. The laceration stung as I washed it. I thought it might be getting infected. But there was nothing I could do. I could not go out and seek treatment and have them put me on record. Besides, I could not pay them. I had no money. 

It was then I heard creaking. I realized the outside door was opening. Serena had broken her promise! They were going to kill me! I threw down my rag and grabbed my knife and stood against the wall at the edge of the stairs, so as not to be seen. My heart pounded as I prepared to attack. I felt a pang of anger at her for breaking her promise and telling. I heard footsteps getting closer... and closer... then someone came off the last step and I pushed them down onto the couch and raised the knife to kill my attacker. 

"Please! Tuxedo Mask! Stop! It’s me, Serena! I am not going to hurt you!" I looked at her and let my breath out. I set the knife down, starting to let my adrenaline drop to its normal level. I wasn't threatened, but I was furious. 

"What are you doing here!?" I yelled, probably more harshly than I had intended. I did not want to terrify her, but she did not deserve to be treated with kindness for scaring me to death and barging in unannounced. 

"I-I was worried about you... Your arm, I mean. Yes, well I felt I should help you since you helped me, and I - uh brought you some medicine and real bandages. Now you won't have to worry about it getting i-infected." 

She was stuttering from fright. Or was she lying? Were there a bunch of people behind her waiting for her to lure me out. I was skeptical of her truthfulness. I did not want to go up and shut the door for fear of a raid. Yet, I had to explain to her she could not just come over uninvited. 

"Go shut the door and come back. I need to speak with you," I ordered gruffly, communicating to her I was still angry she had come again without notice. Serena shot up from the couch and went to the stairs. Her feet made a clicking sound as she walked on the stone floor in her heels. She was having some difficulty walking. I had scared her more than I thought. 

She turned to me and asked, "How do I close it?" 

"You'll see a torch holder on the wall near the top of the steps. Press the button inside the holder and it will close." 

She ascended the stairs. I took the opportunity to glance through her bag. I picked it up and opened the zipper and found iodine, pain killers, and bandages. Maybe she was telling the truth? And in that case, I had a good chance of getting this cut to heal better. I was not sure how to go about dealing with Serena. What could I say or do to make her not come back here again, without scaring her to death? She most certainly could not be permitted to just show up uninvited. Well Tux, you probably put an end to that the minute you threw her on the couch and almost stabbed her to death. 

I heard the door shut. Then the sound of her light footsteps sailing down the stairs. She had removed the heels apparently. She must be light as a feather. She hardly makes a sound. 

Serena appeared at the bottom of the staircase, shoes in hand. She set them down by the foot of the stairs. I had long since reclosed her bag and I was now facing her, half turned on the couch. She looked at me and smiled, but then diverted her eyes and said, "I am sorry for barging in on you again." 

I looked at her. She was playing with the bracelet on her wrist, tugging at it and rolling the beads across her skin. I could tell she was upset and a little scared. "I just wanted to help you. That wound could get worse. See, I brought you some medicine and bandages for it." 

She came over to me and sat down next to me on the couch. She pulled her bag onto her lap and began taking out the bandages, pain killers, and the iodine. She began telling me what each was for as if I were two. I didn't seem to catch much she said though. For the first time, I looked at her. I mean really looked at her. She was by far the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. But it wasn't only her physical appearance. Her body just seemed to radiate goodness, kindness, and innocence. In all the books I have read and all the plays I have seen, all the conversations I overheard, and everyone I had ever encountered from a distance, I had never heard of someone who was or who could be so pure of heart. Either she was as pure as I took her to be, or she was the best actress I had ever seen. 

"So would you like me to?" Serena asked. It was only then I realized she had been talking to me about the medicine the whole time and now was looking at me in my one good eye. 

"Would I like you to do what?" 

"Clean out the cut." 

"Well, since you're here, and I have been fairly unsuccessful myself, why not?" My shirt already unbuttoned, I slid it off and turned my back to her so she could see better. I heard her small intake of breath as I took off my shirt. I almost laughed outright at her innocence. I did not think even royalty sheltered their children this much! I saw her reach for cloth in her bag and pour some bottled water on it. She patted so gently, I hardly knew she was there. Then she reached for the iodine bottle. She poured some on a separate rag. 

"This shall sting. Do you need a rag or pillow to grip?" 

"I'll be finem" I growled. Imagine! She thought that a guy like me couldn't…

"AHHH!" I screamed. It burned and stung so badly I got tears in my eyes. 

"It is alright. It will only last a minute." 

Yes, Princess, but a minute in pain may as well be an eternity. She blew on my wound and the stinging stopped. I turned to her angrily. 

"Why didn't you warn me?" I demanded. Then remembering she did I turned again and grumbled, "Never mind." 

She giggled. It was the most contagious laughter. I could hardly keep from smiling myself. How did she do that? 

"Do you do this often, Princess?" I asked. I was trying to poke fun at her. But having little experience in this area, I doubt if that is how it came across. 

"Normally the nurse would care for wounds like this. But since I am the only one who knows that you are here, and not a ghost, it was rather up to me." She stopped. "Tuxedo Mask?" 

"Yes?" 

"How long have you lived here?" 

"Close to nine or ten years by now." 

"Well then, how old are you?" 

"I don't know exactly how old I am. I would guess eighteen or nineteen." 

"You don't know? Didn't your parents tell you?" 

I paused. It took everything in me to keep from yelling at her for asking questions, especially ones about my parents who I figured abused me and that's why I ran away. "I don't know." 

"Why not?" All the while she had been bandaging me up and with her now done, I turned to her. 

"Princess, with all due respect, I would prefer if the line of questioning came to an end." There. I was nice but I wanted to rip out her throat. She was quiet now. 

She looked away but then spoke, "I wanted to thank you once again for saving my life. I am certain that if you had not come along when you did, I would be dead." 

"I am glad I was able to help you, Princess," I replied. 

"Please, call me Serena." 

"Alright, Serena." I put my back against the couch now. I laid my feet on the coffee table in front of me. I figured I had better ask her something before she started trying to converse. "So how do you like being the Princess of the whole universe?" 

Lame question but I guess conversation eluded my grasp. It was not as easy as it seemed as she looked puzzled. She thought a moment and then replied, "I am not sure how to answer the question. Up until now, my life has been spotless. Nothing has really ever gone wrong for me. I basically live to ice skate. Ever since I was a child, I loved picking flowers from the garden and then throwing them on the ice and leaving trails and designs." 

She blushed. "Oh how silly I must sound to you!" she said nervously. 

Yeah, you do. "No. Not at all. You are simply different from most people who I've heard of." 

Serena appeared intrigued by this and cocked her head to one side and then asked, "How so?" 

"Well, I have not had much human interaction. But from the ones I have and from studying history, literature, and psychology, humans, for the most part, are violent creatures who put themselves above all else. Just look at the way we slaughter each other in wars and with the murderers, and criminals out for their own personal gain. You, however, seem to be exactly the opposite. You are the type of person that more people should be." 

I congratulated myself. I had paid her a great compliment even though I figured she was different on the inside than she appeared to be. After all, she was royalty. But I was intrigued by the fact she had humbled herself and came to help me. A lowly commoner. 

Now I was almost to the point where I wanted to learn more about her. How was is it she was raised with everything handed to her and she still found herself able to talk to someone like me? She seemed thrilled with this compliment. She looked at me and said, "When can I see you again?" 

I glanced at the clock. We had been talking for almost four hours. She had to be getting home. I was about to say “Never come here again,” but looking into those blue eyes, I couldn't say no to her. She looked so excited and hopeful. I couldn't take the happiness out of her eyes, and risk her mother questioning her. Besides, I had to oblige her so she wouldn't tell anyone I was here. 

"How about tomorrow? Same time?" At least she had been smart enough to come under the cover of darkness. 

Serena lit up. "Oh yes! I shall see you then. I hope the pain killers work. Try them. It will help you sleep. Goodbye!" 

She got into her shoes and raced up the stairs. She was out the door faster than I had ever seen anybody go. She just had such a glow. I figured she wanted to go before I changed my mind. I laughed. As she closed the door I got up from my couch, walked to my bed, and fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think she's starting to grow on him.


	10. A Dangerous Idea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first chapter with a change of viewpoints. Here we watch as the two begin to enjoy hanging out together even more.

Chapter 9- A Dangerous Idea 

**SERENA**

Tuxedo Mask had made me the happiest I could ever remember being. I realized he had not really done all that much. Everybody was always pleasant to me, my being the Princess of the Moon and all. He, if anything, had been harsher than most people I had met. But there was something about the way he acted around me. He used to be really cold. Now, he was not so rigid. Maybe that is why I felt so elated. He softened up to me, and from the sounds of it, it was something he had never done before. 

I was happy I could do that for someone when he had opened up to no one else. When I first walked in the door, I was of course frightened. I mean, would not you be if you were thrown down and had a knife put in your face? I suppose he had a right to react the way he did. Here was a man who always felt threatened by humans. Then I go and barge in, late at night, unannounced. He probably thought I was an ambush. 

He calmed down quickly though when he saw it was me. I tried not to look or act too shaken. I think he noticed I was frightened, though, and tried to make me feel better and not be scared. When I got back from closing the door, I noticed how attractive he was. I had never seen a man's chest in person. Especially not one so well defined. 

I scolded myself inside. "Stop it, Serena. You are letting your emotions and whims get the best of you." 

But then he took off the shirt completely so that I could help clean his wound. I thought I was going to faint! 

Well, he certainly could not hate me. After all, he invited me back tomorrow night. I had a feeling he was doing it out of pity for me, but I had no proof. Was it possible he wanted to get to know me as much as I wanted to get to know him? Maybe this would lead to us eventually becoming close friends... or lovers? 

"Oh, Serena you are terrible! That will never happen, so do not even think about it," I said aloud. I sat in my room on my bed, trying to get some sleep. "After all. What would Mother think?" 

Mother! I had not thought of her. It was treason to love me, and I would be held accountable for being irresponsible. It was not anything compared to what would happen to him though. He could be executed for it. I would never want that to happen to Tuxedo Mask. 

Then it hit me... What if Mother already knew? She is telepathic. But no. She would have confronted me with the situation. Would she not? 

**Darien**

Serena confused me. All of my life, I had spent avoiding people. I avoided them for two reasons. One, I could be discovered to live under the center. That had to break some rules. Trespassing... Paying no rent... Not a licensed living area...? If that happened, I would have no place to go except jail.

Two, humans were supposed to have these incredibly violent tendencies. Even children's stories were filled with death and violence. Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood, The Boy Who Cried Wolf... Sure, some of them had morals, but wasn't there another way to convey them? Then there was History. History is full of wars between The Moon Kingdom and the Negaverse. Murderers, robbers, abusers, rapists... It was too much. 

Then I had this girl who was none of that. She was a genuine innocent. I might have been able to say she was just sheltered as a child but she was the Princess of the Moon Kingdom. She knew what had gone on everywhere. Still, she remained so sweet and loving. It was more than I could comprehend. This one girl threw a giant hole in my entire theory about mankind. She made me question my entire lifestyle. 

There was one downside to her innocence. She asked too many questions. I did not like even thinking about my past, much less want to divulge it to an almost complete stranger. But then, what harm could her questions do? I knew what they could do. If she ever got angry with me, she could run off and tell everyone everything about me. Was it not enough that she was the only one who knew where I lived? The only one who knew I was even alive and not a ghost or just some myth? 

"No," I decided. "I must keep my distance from her and not reveal too much about myself. I have to keep myself from harm at all costs."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I once tried to fight an attraction to someone who was dating another guy and thought as long as she was happy. It was torture for me to deny these feelings and eventually I had to confess how I felt. Believe it or not, things worked out well.


	11. Sparks?

Chapter 10- Sparks?

**Serena**

I went around to the back of the center. I was able to find the ring this time much quicker. I had a bit of trouble with the door though. It was heavy, and I was very tired from a long rehearsal. I wondered if Tuxedo Mask had seen it. I knew even if he did, he would not have recognized me. I finally got the door open and ventured down the stairs to his room. There I found him sitting on the couch and reading a book. 

"Hello," He greeted me, not looking up. I did not know how to take this greeting. Either he was really enthralled with his book, or he just did not care I had come over. 

He set the book down and looked at me. He invited me to sit down on the couch. I accepted the offer and crossed the room. He poured me a glass of tea and offered me a plate with a dessert on it. 

"Chocolate cheesecake? This is my favorite dessert." 

"I know. Practically your whole life is recorded Serena, including your favorite dishes." 

I was puzzled. Had he actually gone to all the trouble of reading up on me to find out my favorite dessert? He seemed to be reading my mind when he answered, “I read a book once on the royal family, everyone from your Mother's Grandmother to you is written in. Then when I saw the cheesecake in the refrigerator tonight, I remembered it was one of your favorite desserts. I take it the information was accurate.”

I was shocked. I did not realize until now the authors had written about me in such great detail. It was unnerving, actually, to think that someone, anyone could simply pick up a book and find out about anything I had ever done. He sensed my disbelief and laughed. 

“What do you expect? You are a public figure. Everything that goes on in your life is news.”

It was then I realized he probably knew a lot more about me than I did about him. I smiled at the notion of my first word breaking headlines and took a bite of the cake. 

"This is delicious," I told him. "Where did you get it?" 

He looked at me cautiously. I could tell he did not care for my asking questions. I decided not to ask anymore and was very surprised when he answered me.

"There are tunnels that reach all around this place. I crawl through them to get anywhere in the center except the dining hall and the theatre's backstage. I can gain access to the library, theatre, dance room, and the kitchen. That is where I get my wealth of books. I always return them though. I do not want to arouse suspicion that 'The Center Spector' has a soft spot for books. The cooks, however, despise me. Each night, I steal my food for the next day. They can never seem to figure out where all their creations go. I never take anything I know they can't easily replace though. They have attributed the loss of food to the dance classes. The cooks figure after all those people work off a meal, they figure they are entitled to another." 

I laughed. The thought of all those people raiding the kitchen just after they worked out for hours was hilarious. 

"So what kind of books do you read Serena?" he asked me. I could tell he was desperately trying to get the conversation off himself. 

"I basically only read the books that are assigned to me by my tutors. The classics, mainly. I never liked school. I would much rather be involved with my learning and applying it to my life rather than sitting in a classroom taking notes on things I'll never need to know. The only time I enjoy school is when I have it with my friends from the Court." 

"Which friends?" 

"Well, let me see... There is Michelle of Neptune, Amy of Mercury, my best friend Mina of Venus, Lita of Jupiter..." I continued on but when I said Mina and Lita's name he got a strange look on his face. Like it triggered a memory. I did not lead on I saw the change of expression. I merely continued on my list and when I got done, he snapped back into reality. I took another bite of cake. 

"Which one of them taught you to ice skate?" he asked. He did know a lot about me. I felt like I was at a disadvantage. But at least this way by my being open with him, he might open up to me and be able to trust me more.  
He raised a bite of cake to his lips and ate it. 

"None of them. I went skating for the first time when they invited me, but I got out on the ice and skated like I had been doing it since the day I was born. I enjoyed it so much that my Mother brought an instructor to the palace to coach me. I have been skating competitively ever since. I love to skate. Have you ever done it?" 

"No," he replied. "I have not been off these grounds in nine years." 

Nine years! I could not believe it. I doubted from the paleness of his skin he had not been out much, but for nine years? 

"Your parents did not ever take you?" I asked. 

"Nom" He gruffly replied, lowering his gaze. "Yours?" 

"Oh, yes. Mother has gone with me on occasion but not often. She and I mainly take walks in the garden and around the palace. Sometimes we vacation on Earth or Venus and spend a week or so relaxing. We are very close. She has always been very supportive of me and what I do. She always used to make time to tuck me in at night. Nowadays, she and I spend a few hours talking on Saturdays considering neither of us has time during the week." 

He asked me some more about my mother and Lita and Mina. As I was talking, I glanced around and noticed all of the clippings on the wall. I stopped. "What are all these clippings of?" 

Tuxedo Mask looked around him. "The community center history, I guess. They were here when I found the place. The previous owner of the apartment helped build this place and therefore was able to specially build the center to accommodate his living there. I guess he was tired of paying for things to. See his diary is over here." 

Tuxedo Mask got up and walked over to a writing desk and opened a drawer. He brought out an old worn book. He turned to me and signaled me over. When I reached him he showed me a page where there was a blueprint of the center with the tunnels all charted, including what was now Tuxedo Mask's house. 

I noticed there was a platform overlooking the stage and I asked him, "So do you watch the performances from here?" I pointed to a platform above the stage. 

Tuxedo Mask nodded. He looked at me and said, "I watch rehearsals, plays, and any other function held in that auditorium. I love the theatre." 

"I do also," I remarked. It was the first truly common ground I had found between us. From this moment on, we looked at each other differently. The looks seemed to say, I was desperately looking for a reason to like you, now I found it. 

I looked into his good eye and thought it was the prettiest blue I had ever seen. I wondered what happened to the other one, but I knew better than to ask him. If he was uncomfortable opening up to someone, he certainly would not want to talk about an old injury. After all, he was a man, and they do not ever seem to want to admit they are in pain. I figure this was the case if he covered it up. Perhaps he himself did not want to remember. Maybe he got in a fight or was attacked. Oh well. If I was ever going to find out, I had to be patient. I certainly was not going to find out tonight. 

He returned to the couch after putting the book away. I followed him. 

"I have watched every show that has been here since I moved in. There have been many performances held in the last nine years." 

So, not only has he not gone outside the center in the last nine years, but he has not gone out since he had been there. I pitied him. There was so much beauty on the Moon he could not see for himself. I would have invited him to come to the palace gardens, but I knew he would decline. 

"Did you see many plays before you moved in here?" I asked. 

"I don't know. I do not remember anything of my life before I moved in here. If you will excuse me Serena, but it is getting late. I wouldn't want to get you into trouble." 

I asked how his shoulder was before I left and he said it was doing better now he had the proper medication for it. He thanked me for taking the time and going through the trouble to get it for him. As I left there I got the feeling we had somehow made a connection.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Common ground is important in any relationship. Hobbies and interests you can share help to make the time you spend together just a bit more special.


	12. Healing

Chapter 11- Healing 

**DARIEN**

That night I dreamt of Serena. I had never met anyone like her and I guess she shocked me enough to make my mind make her into a character in a dream. 

I often did not remember my dreams. Sometimes I could see a woman I called Wildman. Sometimes I would dream about a book I was reading and I would be one of the characters. I had never dreamt of someone I had seen through. Maybe it was because she puzzled me so. Or it could be that she was just the first person I had a real conversation with since... since... ever. 

She was the first person who had taken the time or even had the opportunity to talk to me face to face. The strange thing was even though I thought she might have a hidden agenda behind those innocent queries and those beautiful blue eyes, I found myself able to talk to her and easily trust her. 

"Maybe too easily," I said aloud while lying in bed. I had shown her the blueprints of all the tunnels. Now she could really get to me and I would never see an ambush coming. I had let down my guard for a minute and she swindled me into showing her one of my most vulnerable assets. I kicked myself for the error. How could I have let my guard down like that? Sure, talking was okay. Even letting her know a little about my past. But showing her my routes and telling her where I got my food and books from was just plain ignorant. 

Somehow, deep down, I knew I could trust her, my instincts and conclusions about humanity had been wrong, at least in the way not everyone was violent. But still, I did not want to give too much too fast. I didn't really know her. I knew all about her, but I didn't know her. 

Still, I liked talking to Serena about things. It was nice to hear what it was like to grow up in a situation where there was a family who loves you and have many friends to hang around with and talk to. Up until now, I had never really much thought of who my mother and father were. They were probably rich considering I was wearing such fine clothing the night of the crash. I had put the outfit away in a chest when I outgrew it. It was not really of any value to me considering I was not the sentimental type. But I thought it unwise to throw it out because it was stained with my blood and there was always the possibility someone could investigate where this mysterious piece of clothing came from.

But now I began to wonder who my parents were. Lita's name had sounded so familiar. Mina's not as much but still... Could I have been wrong and have not come from the Earth or Moon, but from Venus or Jupiter? Is that why they struck me as such? 

I decided to stop pondering. I could sit for hours contemplating and still be no closer to finding any answers. Nonetheless, I decided I would gather some books from the library on the royalty of the eight planets. I had really only learned of the Moon's. Maybe my memory would be jarred. But in the moment I was content to just sit in bed and think about what I was going to do about the situation with Serena. 

She seemed sweet enough. She also appeared to be genuinely interested in me. Imagine that! The Princess of the Moon interested in something I had to say! It was comical! 

She thinks of you as an inferior, Tux. I reminded myself. The only interest she has in you is pure amusement because you're of the lower class. 

I was glad her questions had not traveled to my eye patch. There were certain things I did not think I would ever be ready or able to discuss openly. I got out of bed, I crossed the room to the bathroom, and I got out the iodine. Thanks to Serena's medicine, the laceration had been healing much better. I changed the bandage carefully and got dressed. 

It had been decided the night before that Serena would come over again at what now seemed to be becoming her usual time. I looked at the clock and discovered it was almost five in the evening! I had managed to sleep away well over half the day. I was unaccustomed to staying up until four in the morning, and now my body was retaliating. 

I decided to watch Serena's rehearsal. That way I at least could keep the conversation away from my personal life. I knew if I gave her the chance to start asking questions again, I'd cave just as easily as I had last night. Well, maybe not just as easily. Now I had regained my senses and put everything back in its proper perspective. 

She was the Princess of the Moon, and I, a penniless commoner. I failed to see why she was even interested in talking to me, other than it might be amusing to see how the "other half" lived. Nonetheless, I felt myself begin to like her. I did not know why she was able to do this to me. It was annoying actually. All my life, I have been trying to build up a defense against people, and here she was, undoing my entire life's work with her... her... everything! 

I opened the right door and crawled through the tunnels past the dance room and the kitchen. I climbed the ladder (as difficult as it was thanks to my shoulder) and began to watch the rehearsal, hoping to see Serena. I didn't. Maybe she wasn't rehearsing today? Then I saw the characters who were supposed to be working with her. But the girl playing her part was a green-eyed, black-haired girl. She was short, slender, flat-chested, and had cream-colored skin. She was pretty. But nowhere near as beautiful as Serena. Serena had the most gorgeous big blue eyes, long blonde hair that seemed to flow behind her, done up in a bonbon shape (like her mother's). Serena was thin but had all the right curves in all the right places. It seemed as though she had an impossibly thin waist for the size of her chest. She was in a word...Perfect. 

It was the sound of the scream of a character on-stage that snapped me out of my daydream. It was then I realized how just thinking about Serena had caused my body to react. Sure, I had seen pictures of barely clothed women in books that turned me on, but Serena did not even have to try. I found it amazing any man who laid eyes on her did not immediately fall in love, or at least in lust with her. It was not until later I realized my body would not have responded like this if it was merely her body I was interested in. 

Serena came at her usual time. This time, rather than casually reading a book when she came I had a stack of them on the table. Most were of the royalty of the other planets, but I had not taken a chance to read them. I cleared enough room so I could set down another pot of tea and teacups. When she reached the bottom of the stairs her face glowed. I smiled. She always looked so pretty. 

This time she needed no invitation. She sat down next to me on the couch, a little closer than usual. Get control of your mind and mouth Tux. You don't want to spill any more information. 

"So, I watched your rehearsal today. I didn't see you though. Care to explain?" 

Serena grinned as if she knew a secret and wanted me to pry and drag it out. I didn't give in. 

She looked up at me and began. "When I started the play, I used a disguise power of mine as to not be recognized. I did not wish to be treated any differently because of my status. I look like a short black haired girl. Her name is Jasmine. Did you see her?" 

I realized the girl I had been comparing to Serena WAS Serena. I laughed nervously, remembering where my mind (and body) had taken me earlier. "Yeah. I saw you." 

Then she gasped and got a strange expression on her face. "Wait! My powers! Oh, why did I not think of this sooner?" 

I was about to ask her what she meant when before I knew it she had taken off my jacket and was now unbuttoning my shirt. I did everything in my power to keep from losing my cool and letting my body react to this. But when a beautiful Princess starts spontaneously taking off your clothes, you don't stop her and ask "Why?" 

She took off my shirt and turned me around. She unwrapped my laceration and gently placed her hand on it. I saw a flash and I felt a strange sensation. 

Then I heard her say, "That is better." 

I moved my arm with no pain. I turned to her and looked at her questioningly. 

"I have the power of telekinesis. I healed you. You are better now. Sorry for not thinking of it sooner." 

She was right. My shoulder had completely healed and scarless. 

If only I had known her when I hurt my eye, I thought bitterly. 

"Thank you," I said to her, slightly bowing my head. 

"Of course, Tuxedo Mask," she replied, not making eye contact. Was she staring at my bare chest? I raised an eyebrow. She seemed to snap back and look up at me. She knew I had caught her staring. Serena turned the deepest shade of red I had ever see. 

I smiled at her and broke the silence to her relief, "So tomorrow night is your performance?" 

She looked at me, almost grateful and said that it was. 

"Can I see you the morning after my performance? I should go home and rest now, and I fear I will be exhausted tomorrow night." 

I nodded yes she could come and she seemed to light up. "Will you watch Jasmine perform? She is very pretty after all." 

"Not as pretty as you," I said before I could catch myself. Great! Now she knows I think she's attractive. What will I say next? Um... Princess, I really want to sleep with you. I felt foolish.

We said goodnight and I didn't sleep all night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOW exactly do you forget you have superpowers specifically designed to heal someone? I mean...seriously.


	13. The Trust

Chapter 12- The Trust 

**SERENA**

The morning before my performance Lita and Mina came over to bug me. They were going to attend the performance and came early to spend some time with me prior. They came in my room and woke me up like this... 

"Serena…," Lita whispered as Mina shook me slightly. At some point, I must have said something about Tuxedo Mask because when I came to they looked at me with the biggest smiles and Mina asked me, "So...who's Tuxedo Mask?" 

I sat up in bed. "What?" I demanded, faster than I should have. 

"You kept saying that name in your sleep, so who is he?" Lita demanded of me. I put my head in my hands. This was great. I promised not to tell, but then again, they were my best friends. Tuxedo Mask would understand. After all, I did not have to tell them where he lived. 

They sat down on my bed and I told them my story. I included that I had strong feelings for him and that he had said I was pretty the night before. I told them I did not know for sure if he returned my affection. 

Mina squealed. "Oh, how romantic! I knew you were in love! I could feel it! My being the love Princess and everything... Oh, Serena! You're so lucky! He sounds amaaaazing!" 

Love! Love? I had never associated the feelings I had for Tuxedo Mask as 'love' before. Was I in love with him? 

Mina put her hands over her chest and squealed in-between giggles. 

"Mina, I really do not believe I love him. Like, yes, certainly, but love? I simply do not..." 

"Yeah right! Serena, honestly who do you think you're talking to? You have bigger googly eyes than I did when I liked Frederick. You are so in love!" 

"Well, Lita certainly mentions Frederick enough to have been in love. 'Freddy this. ' 'Freddy that.' It's SICK!" Mina grumbled, but then laughed. My friends were such valley girls. Honestly, I sometimes wondered how they passed as intelligent at Court sessions. They were fun to be with, and they did know a lot about men. But most importantly, I was beginning to think that they were right about my being in love with Tuxedo Mask. 

"Besides." Mina started, "Anyone's better than Micah! Is he still beating you?" 

Micah! I had almost completely forgotten about him. What could I do? I was engaged to one but in love with another. I certainly could not tell Mother about Tuxedo Mask. And, if Tuxedo Mask found out about Micah, there is no way he would ever love me the way I love him. 

"I have not seen him in a long while. Since Tuxedo Mask attacked him, I believe." 

"Well if he doesn't cut it out I'll take care of him myself!" Lita stated. Lita was by far the most powerful warrior Princess. She could beat anyone in a fight with or without powers. Jupiter had always been stranger than the other planets for some reason. Lita was certainly no exception. I figured it was from the long line or War Princes and Princesses found in her family tree. She was the tallest of the Princesses with brown hair, green eyes, and had by far the biggest chest. 

Mina, on the other hand, was the most graceful, next to me. She was also, in my opinion, the prettiest of all of us. She had sparkling blue eyes, blonde hair, and an attractive figure. But what made Mina the prettiest is that she always acted as sweet and pretty as she looked. Even when she was angry, she still managed to be graceful and Princess like, where Lita would pound anything that got in her way. 

I admired them both. "That is alright, Lita. When we marry..." "IF! If you marry!" Mina corrected, glaring at me and looking all around perturbed in a most Royal fashion. 

"IF we marry, I will be able to defend myself having the full power of the Silver Crystal." 

"Yeah but still. I'd love to kick his ass." 

Mina and I gasped. It was not proper for a young Princess, or any royalty for that matter, to curse. 

"What?!" Lita asked annoyed. "Really, you innocents!" 

We all laughed and they said goodbye. I got up and decided to take a shower before my performance. It was already three in the afternoon. The play started at seven and I had to be there early. As I was getting in the shower I wondered what it would be like if Tuxedo Mask was here with me. 

The performance was a success. The audience gave us all a standing ovation. I was filled with mixed emotions. I was relieved it was over with and it had run perfectly, but at the same time, I felt something special was now going to be missing from my life. I began to contemplate the possibility of starting another production. 

Backstage, the cast members were exchanging thank yous, flowers, and phone numbers. Molly wanted my number and I told her I would call her. We said goodbye and I finished packing up my things. My friends and Mother were standing outside waiting for me. All of us in disguise, of course. But I thought it might have been obvious with all the disguised guards around us!. 

They congratulated me and we headed back to the palace for a small celebration. I was exhausted and retired early. I ended up taking another shower to wash off all the perspiration I had gotten from being under the hot stage lights all night. I crawled into bed and set my clock to wake me up at nine. I wanted to sleep in, but not keep Tuxedo Mask waiting too long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Her friends know Micah is being abusive and they don't do anything? Yeah, yeah I know. Politics and suspension of disbelief and all but still. If the girls know they would do something.


	14. Am I Falling For Her?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Going over editing this thing, it’s really starting to feel like the original author had no beta readers and just used spell checker before posting it. I found the word “Alurate” where either “Alright” or “Alert” was needed. Man, editing this thing is more daunting than I thought it would be.

Chapter 13- Am I Falling For Her? 

**DARIEN**

I watched the performance. It ran smoother than any of their rehearsals. The audience was great, too. They laughed in all the right places and even applauded after good lines. Some people don't realize how important an audience is to a production. There have been cast members breaking down backstage because nobody laughed at their lines or something. The audience can make or break a production. This audience definitely made it! 

I enjoyed watching Serena, even if she did look like Jasmine. She was a very talented actress and really got into her role. I was biased of course, but I thought she was the best one on stage. Jasmine definitely wasn't anywhere near as beautiful as Serena. But then again, Serena had an unfair advantage.  
Serena was the Princess of the whole universe. It was one of her jobs to be beautiful. But she did it so well! 

On my way back to my room, I got some doughnuts and coffee. I returned to my apartment, anxious for it to be tomorrow. I sat down on my bed and opened the book I had been reading. It was on Jupiter. When I saw the picture of Lita as a child, I recognized her. I definitely recognized her. I remembered looking at her on a bright day. She was picking flowers and talking to me. This was the end of my flashback. Now I was certain I was born on Jupiter. I must have been a Delegate's son or something. Maybe one of the men in that crashed airplane was my father? 

I decided not to tell Serena my findings. After all, she'd want to help me find my parents if she knew too much. That wouldn't have been bad except for the fact I still had the feeling I somehow escaped certain danger by running away. Serena wouldn't understand that. I was also glad she still hadn't asked about my patch. Maybe she knew it was a sensitive subject with me. In any case, there were still a few things I did not want her knowing about me. I finally gave up thinking and decided to get some sleep before tomorrow.  
I woke up to the sound of Serena's voice. 

"Tuxedo Mask...? Wake up. It's morning. Tuxedo Mask? Are you alright?" 

I opened my eyes and saw her face right above mine. I had it in my right mind to just take her head in my hands and kiss her, but I didn't. If only I could wake up every morning to her beautiful face. She smiled down at me. 

"Tuxedo Mask, are you feeling well?" Serena asked me with concern. 

"Better now," I said without thinking. I stopped before saying anything else. I had to wake up before I spoke again, otherwise, I may as well just thrown her down on my bed and made love to her right then. I sat up in bed. Luckily, I sleep in my boxers, so I wasn't naked. I don't think she ever saw a man in his underwear though. When she saw what I was wearing, she, gasped, blushed and turned around. She clenched her fists at her sides and was holding her breath. I laughed. 

"I'm sorry Serena. Is it 'Improper' for you to be in a room with a barely clothed man? Or am I just too hideous to look at?" 

She turned to me. She was bright red, now. She looked at my body and let out an almost inaudible squeak. "No, you are not horrible to look at. You are very... pleasing...to the eyes. B-But I thought you might be uncomfortable." 

Me, uncomfortable? Serena was so flustered, she was squirming around and stuttering, not able to form straight sentences. I felt bad for her. I had made her feel stupid. 

I asked her to excuse me and I crossed the room to the bathroom and got on my pants and brushed my teeth. You'd be surprised what they sold in the gift shop next to the center. Long ago, I had found a way in through, you guessed it, the vents. It was how I got my shampoo, toothbrush, and paste. Not to mention my other essentials including a razor that let me shave and a scissor to trim my hair. I got good at making it even, but my first few attempts... We just won't talk about them. 

I sat down on the couch with my pants on now, and she sat next to me. Our normal routine. I reached for the covered doughnuts and asked if she wanted any. She said no so I decided to wait to eat. I wasn't really hungry yet. 

"Congratulations on your performance last night, 'Jasmine'." I said. 

She giggled. "You liked it?" 

I liked you. 

"Yeah. It was the best I had ever seen any of you perform. I had seen the rehearsals and was not too sure how it would go. But your cast pulled it off with no problems or mistakes." 

"Thank you. Tuxedo Mask?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Do you have a favorite play." 

I thought about the question a moment. I never really chose a favorite. "Not really. Why? Do you?" 

"Yesm" Serena replied smiling. "Snow White." 

I knew that one. It made sense Serena would choose that play. It was about royalty, after all. Humans are creatures of habit. Like if you walk into a classroom and you sit in a certain chair, when you come the next day, you will sit there again, assigned seat or not. Serena was sticking with what she knew from her own life. 

I was beginning to get hungry. "Sure you don't want a doughnut? I have powdered..." I coaxed in a sing-songy voice. 

She laughed and accepted this time. I got up to go put on some coffee. Then I thought better of it. I thought Serena would prefer tea. I came and sat back down with a tea kettle and cups. 

"Well, since you seem to know so much about my likes and dislikes, the cheesecake and now the doughnuts. I wish to know some things about you." 

Oh great. Here it comes. I thought. 

"What are YOUR weaknesses when it comes to food?" 

I was relieved. She did not want to pry! We talked about basic things for hours... Food, clothes, plays, books, tutors, funny things that have happened to people in the community center. Then we got onto more of a deeper level. We started talking about issues like abuse, rape, poverty, sickness... I found for someone who I presumed to be so innocent, she knew an awful lot about what problems there were in the world. She and I agreed on a lot of points. Especially about abuse. 

This was the first time that we actually just talked for the sole purpose of getting to know each other better. Before, I had just been trying to avoid the topic of my past. After a long while, I got an idea. 

"Serena." 

"Yes?" 

"The center is closed today because it's Sunday, and I usually return the books I take out and get new ones. Would you like to come with me?" 

Serena thought a moment. "I'd love to, Tuxedo Mask." 

I opened the door on the left and got to where there was enough room for her to follow me before motioning her in after me. We crawled through the tunnels until we got to the platform that was the ceiling of the library. I opened the normal vent and jumped down onto the floor. I ran and got a ladder and climbed back up. I motioned for her to come closer. 

"Serena, can you climb down this ladder?" 

Serena looked down. "Yes." 

I climbed down the ladder and she followed. When she was on the ground, we began picking out books. I found quite a few but only ended up choosing three. Serena grabbed two of her favorite stories and we headed back up the ladder to my room. We set the books down on the table and returned to the couch. 

"Do you get books like that all the time?" she asked. 

"No. But I figured you wouldn't be one to want to go snaking through tunnels like me." 

She grinned. We both picked up a book and started reading. After a minute or two, she looked at the cover of my book. 

"What is that a story of?" 

I looked up. I could tell she would not be satisfied just reading all day. 

"I don't know yet. Come over here and I'll read it to you.” 

She glowed in a way only she could. She came very close and I started the book over again. She seemed to love having me read to her. To this day, I am not sure how, but by the middle of the book I was leaning against the couch armrest with a pillow behind me with my feet on the couch and Serena was leaning against my chest on her side in between my legs. 

I did not realize the change of position had occurred until I began to feel my right nipple being touched. I looked down and saw Serena, making circles around it with her finger. She was so soft and gentle, I could not help but immediately get turned on. Her touch now added to her beauty. Not to mention the smell of her hair. Coconut. It was intoxicating. I only succeeded in getting myself more aroused than I had been. 

"You do realize that that is distracting, Serena?" I stated teasingly. She looked up and got beat red. I do not believe she even realized she had been doing it.  
"Sorry," she said, embarrassed and avoiding my eyes. 

"Hey, don't apologize to me. It felt good." Why did I say that? My mouth had gotten me into more trouble than it was worth. I glanced at the clock. "Didn't you say you needed to be home by five-thirty. It's five now. Perhaps you should be on your way." 

Serena agreed and we said our goodbyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...also while editing this thing, this is around where I found myself saying "Get to the lemon already!." It's coming, I swear.


	15. Late Night Caller

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While editing, I found "probangs" instead of "probings." This fic never fails to amaze me.

Chapter 14- A Late Night Caller 

**SERENA******

** **** **

** **** **

I transported back to the palace and went straight to my room. I had a banquet to attend. It was for practically the whole Court and all the Delegates and Ambassadors. 

I sent for my maidservants to help me prepare. They put beads in my hair and dressed me in a long sleeveless pink gown with matching sash. I also wore a pearl necklace and earrings and carried the royal scepter. 

The maids left and I laid back on my bed. It had been the most wonderful day. I knew for sure now that I was in love with Tuxedo Mask. I had not even realized what I was doing until he informed me I was distracting him. With his face so close to mine, all I wanted was to kiss him and have his arms wrapped around me. I had been so excited he had not woken up when I got there. I loved waking him up and having him smile at me in the morning. I had loved every minute I spent with him. He was no longer mean or rigid. Now he was caring and sweet. I was pretty sure he felt the same way about me. He had let a few comments slip and I knew I had excited him when I was touching his chest. I knew I had such an effect on men before but when I did it to Tuxedo Mask, it was the first time I was glad I was able to. 

Tuxedo Mask was so great. He had become so open and true. He was also the first truly observant person I knew. He could tell exactly what I was feeling and why and reacted accordingly. He had no desire to hurt me. 

Tuxedo Mask also had another quality which you would never find in someone who lived in a palace. He was down to Earth. He did not need extravagances or indulgences. He was happy living with what he was given and even with the little that that was, he still didn't use all of it. I knew I would love him forever. 

I left for the banquet, finding my seat to be next to my Mother's... and Micah's. 

Micah! I had forgotten about him. What if he sensed my emotions? My mind must be practically screaming them. I did a quick telepathic ritual which allowed me to have extra control and would, in turn, allow me to block unwanted probings. 

Everyone was making their way to their seats. Micah strolled confidently up to my Mother and bowed. "Good evening Queen Serenity. I humbly thank you for inviting me to this banquet." 

I could not believe Mother bought his fake humility. Everyone in the court could have known he was being impudent. I was disgusted by his display and refused to look at him. "Hello, Princess Serena." 

Shove it, Satan! I yelled in my mind and sent the message telepathically. 

"Greetings, Prince Micah," I said aloud to his astonished face. I grinned knowingly, mockingly at him and turned back to the roll on my plate. I used my power to block him from responding to my message. Luckily, Mother was too busy greeting her guests to notice what had transpired. 

The food was wonderful but the company, terrible. Micah kept trying to invade my thoughts and emotions and it took all I had in me to keep him out. I tried to enjoy my dinner and speak with my Mother as much as possible. She thought nothing of it considering it had been a while since we had really talked. 

By the middle of the banquet, Micah had become more than a nuisance. He had become a threat. I was tired of the game he was playing. It took more work for me to keep him out of my mind than for him to make an attempt to get in. We had been having a small talk together despite what was going on internally. Finally, I told him point-blank, "If you do not stop your attempts to get into my mind, I will leave the table and tell my Mother why." 

My Mother was busy entertaining the other guests, visiting other tables. She was an excellent hostess, I must give her that. 

Micah replied, "Why Princess, I do not know what you're talking about." He smirked at me, and I wanted to wipe it off his face with one blast of energy. I merely glared at him in my most menacing and frightening look. 

It worked! He did not try to probe my mind anymore after that. I thought I had won the battle until dessert came. That was when I felt his hand slowly working its way up my thigh. I was stunned. He started to rub and squeeze my upper inner thigh when I jumped up. I ran to my Mother. 

"Mother, I am feeling a little under the weather. I think I am still fatigued from last night. May I retire to my quarters?” 

She gave me permission to leave and said that she would check in on me later. I told her it would not be necessary and she should not worry. I merely needed sleep. I grabbed my sceptre and exited the dining hall and headed down the corridor towards my chambers. 

I was about to close the door when a foot got in my way. The door was forced open and Micah stepped into my room. 

"I see what you did Serena. You said you needed rest so that you could spend some time with me alone. Very clever." 

He knew that was not my intent. He was merely gloating. I realized this had been his plan when he rubbed my leg. He wanted to get me so angry that I would leave and give him the perfect opportunity to rape me, with no one to help. 

He locked the door and came over to me. He grabbed me and shoved his tongue in my mouth. It was so disgusting! I stumbled and almost fell but he had such a tight grip it only made it easier for him to push me onto the floor on my back. 

I was outraged, but there was nothing I could do. I was too weak to fight considering it had taken most of my energy just keeping him out of my mind. Now I had none left to keep him out of my body. 

I looked around. I saw my scepter not too far away. Micah tugged at the fabric of my dress, attempting to expose my breasts. I reached for the sceptre and grabbed it. I slammed it down on his head. Micah rolled off of me and groaned. 

Using the power in the sceptre I blasted him. Another agonized groan. He looked up at me and got to his feet by grabbing onto a chair. He was annoyed because he had tried unsuccessfully to undress me and now I could kill him if I chose and it would have been legal. 

But I was not like him. I merely raised the sceptre as if to blast him again and said, "Leave. Now." 

He did so without argument. I did not know what he was going to tell his parents. I did not really care, either. Once again I felt dirty. Every time he touched me It just made me want to shower. 

As I was running the water I heard a voice in my head, telepathic say, I'll get you back Princess, don't worry. I will." 

I did not care about his threats. As long as I had the Silver Crystal, he could not harm me. I undressed and got in the steamy shower. It felt so good. I imagined Tuxedo Mask was in the shower behind me, rubbing and massaging my shoulders. 

How wonderful it would be if I spent my life with him, I thought. I washed my hair and came out smelling like coconuts. I dried my hair and put on my favorite silk lace nightgown. Raye had bought it for me at a store on Venus. Venus, of course. The love capital of the universe. 

I opened my bathroom door, ready to crawl in bed and dream of Tuxedo Mask when I saw him. There was a figure standing in the corner with a sword in his hand. Micah!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut is coming. I swear!


	16. Another Visitor

Chapter 15- Another Visitor 

**DARIEN**

After Serena left I tried to finish reading the book myself, but I could not stop thinking about her touch. The sweet, gentle caress of a beautiful princess. It was more than any man could bear, let alone a man who had no contact with humans until recently. I felt like my emotions were taking over my mind and my body. It was new to me considering I had never been partial to whims or fancies. 

For the first time, I realized how strong my emotions really were for her. I never thought I could be won over so easily. I thought it would be near impossible to fall in love. But Serena had managed to get me to fall in love and not even realize it. She had gotten to me through my backdoor after all. Just certainly not in the way I had originally thought. 

Oh, she ambushed me alright. But it was not to kill me or make me move out. But she had made it quite impossible to keep living the way I was living. I needed her. Not once a day. All-day. I wanted to marry her. Then just as fast as I had fallen in love, I was hit and knocked right down. 

My loving her was treason. I could never have her as my own. The Court would sooner kill me than to have me, a poor boy, marry the Princess of the Moon. How could I have let myself believe we could have actually one day lived together? What I had been worried about happening my whole life had now happened. I finally met someone whom I wanted to spend my whole life with and now, at the same moment I fell in love with her, she was ripped from my grasp. We had to just stay friends, which might have been the way it was anyway. 

After all, I still did not know how she felt. Did she love me as much as I did her? Yeah right. The Princess of the Moon... love me. I really didn't have the option of spending my life with her anyway. 

But just in case, the next time I saw her, I decided to tell her what I have come to suspect about my past. 

I tried to read the rest of my book again but found it impossible. It wasn't that it was boring, it was just I kept thinking about Serena and her beautiful smile. It wasn't even because of how I was in love with her anymore. Now the problem was... well, I guess it's like the old saying, "You don't miss what you never had." 

I never had human interaction as part of my life before now. Therefore, I did not want it or think it essential. But now that Serena was in my life, I needed someone with me. I found myself feeling an overwhelming emotion I had never experienced before. I believe it was...loneliness? 

I wondered if Serena would mind if I came to visit. After all, she did barge in on me the first time. But the more important question is, how do I get to her? The palace was large, unfamiliar, and guarded. I knew that's when a trip to the library was in order. I had read a book a while back contained a palace blueprint. It was the handwritten diary of Serena's great grandfather. It had not been published for the reason someone might try to plan an invasion or an assassination attempt. It was kept in a hidden safety box behind the librarian's desk. 

When I reached the Library, I found the safe. It looked like four bricks. The key, as I remembered, was taped under the top desk drawer. I opened the drawer and sure enough, I found the key when I felt underneath it. I unlocked the safe and turned the desk light on. I flipped through the pages until I found what I was looking for. It had maps of the grounds and whom all the chambers were for. I doubted they were still accurate but I committed the information to memory and set off for the palace. 

I went outside the boundaries of the center for the first time since the crash. It was a strange feeling. I was excited, overwhelmed, nervous, and scared all at once. The path I walked on that night had been paved since I last used it. It was now quite a pleasant walk. However, it was night and therefore it was rather dark. Luckily, I saw firecrackers up in the air and knew they were above the palace. 

I had never seen fireworks in person that I could remember. It made my walk all the more enjoyable. I relished all the natural beauty of the palace gardens once I reached the open gates. I knew these gates were more for show because Serena had confessed they never closed them. Serena had said there was a huge banquet happening tonight so I figured me, in my tuxedo, would fit right in. I merely walked inside. I looked around me. Never in my whole life had I seen such a gorgeous place. It was both huge and extravagant. I could hardly believe my eyes and was certain my jaw hit the floor at this point. It took me several minutes just to take it all in. 

I got my wits together and walked on. I passed the room where the banquet was commencing. I peeked in and saw Queen Serenity. She looked so much like her daughter. Rather Serena looked like her Mother, but they were both so elegant and refined. I saw Serenity call one of her servants. She said something to the girl and then the girl hurried out. She came out the door down from mine and began ordering another girl. 

"The Queen wishes you to check on Serena. She is ill. Her mother wants to know how she is." 

The second girl started off down the corridor. Serena's ill? The poor girl! I realized if I followed the servant, I would know where Serena's quarters were. I followed behind the girl inconspicuously. I passed many rooms, all big and luxurious. For visiting royalty, no doubt. I passed two studies, a library, infinitely bigger than the center's, and armament. The armament? 

The servant turned a corner or two more before ascending a large flight of stairs. Serena's room was on the second floor of course. Her room would definitely have a balcony. I did not follow up the stairs until the servant was halfway down the hall. I was one fourth the way up when she entered the room seven doors down to the right. I descended the steps and went back to the armaments. I decided to give the servant time to get out. 

The weapons room was monstrous. I was flabbergasted. I walked over to a wall with plaques and memorials of great warriors who had died in wars past. One of them was Serena's father, Delian, the keeper of Truth and Light. I looked around. Then I saw something that caught my eye. A sword. There was a wall full of swords but one, in particular, had caught my eye. This would certainly be a more effective weapon than the knife I had. And I had already committed treason. Why not add thievery to the list? 

I took the sword and the case and headed down the hall. I saw the servant that had been in Serena's room coming toward me, so I ducked behind a column. She walked past me and I ascended the stairs. I went to Serena's room and opened it. It was beautifully white. Amazing. I crossed the room to the window. It had the most gorgeous view overlooking the palace gardens. I walked back into the room just in time to see Serena come out of her bathroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Take my whole life too! Cause I can't help...falling in love...with you!!"


	17. Realizations

Chapter 16- Realizations 

**DARIEN******

** **** **

** **** **

I saw the look on her face. She was terrified. I realized I was in the dark and quickly stepped into the light. She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized it was me. 

She was stunning. It was the first time I had seen her hair down. She was beautiful as always but this way she looked more natural. And the nightgown... Oh my God! She was even sexier in her nightgown than in her day gown. My mind and heart could have stopped right then and there and it wouldn't have made any difference. I snapped myself out of it. 

"So what do you think of my new toy, Princess? Better than the knife?" I said demonstrating my new found weapon's capabilities. I was like a child getting a new toy. It's a guy thing I guess. We're into weapons, tanks, and guns, even if I didn't like what they were used for. 

Serena, still recovering giggled. 

"Serena, I came to tell you that I think we should just be..." 

Serena ran towards me.

"Oh Tuxedo Mask! I am so glad you are here!" She wrapped her arms around me. I dropped the sword and hugged her back. 

"Serena, what's wrong? I heard you were not well. What happened?" I could no longer have any hope of telling her we must only be friends tonight, for she started sobbing into my shirt and it tore my heart in two. 

"Oh, Serena," I petted her hair with one hand and laid my head down on hers. I pulled her to the couch where she crawled in my lap and hid her face in my chest. 

"Oh Tuxedo Mask. It was terrible! He did it again! I do not know how to stop him. When I saw you, I thought it was him and I realized how easily he could get to me." 

I was puzzled. "Serena, who are you so afraid of?" 

She sobbed for a while longer and I sat there petting her head and telling her it would be alright. I had never seen her cry and I wanted to die myself. I couldn't bear to see her like this. Finally, she stopped and slowly moved away from me. I reached for a tissue box and I handed her one. 

She thanked me and dried her tears. She would not look at me in the eye. A sure sign Serena was not sure or knew I would not like the words I was about to hear. 

"Do you remember the man you jumped on and saved me from that night in the theatre?" she started. 

"Yes, of course." 

She continued. "His name is Micah. He is the Prince of Saturn. He and I are... engaged." 

A knife went through me. Any hope, any dream, vanished at that moment. I was again alone in the world. I wanted to die then and there. I felt warm tears fill my eyes, but I held them back. I could not stop my hands from shaking though. I don't think Serena noticed how much I was bothered by her last statement. 

How could I have been such a fool? I actually thought a girl like her would just come walking into my life. How could I have never considered a beautiful, rich, powerful, yet sweet girl, had no lover. I felt like crawling in a hole and shriveling. My life was over. When I left here, I would fall on the very sword I had stolen. 

I could not do it in front of Serena, though. She was so innocent. I could not allow her to see her acquaintance kill himself. That was what I was to her. An acquaintance. The saddest part was I knew I would never be more. 

"But…," her voice began to waver. "...I do not love him. I never will love him. I do not care for him... I can't even stand him. He is so cruel! He hits me and grabs me and..." 

Serena went on to tell me everything Micah had done and said. Needless to say, if a thought could kill, Micah would have died a thousand deaths in under a second. She leaned over to me again and crawled back in my lap. This time she laid her head on my shoulder. 

"You are the only one I have told, Tuxedo Mask." She was looking into my eye with her own big teary blue ones. "You are the only one I feel I can trust." 

A fire went through my body. She doesn't love him, and she trusts me the most! I was elated! Talk about emotional roller coasters. Well, if she wouldn't tell her mother, I was the only one who could do anything. But what could I do?

Me, take on a Prince? I would be laughed out of the Courtroom before I had even spoken a word. Despite my newfound confidence, I still knew now Serena could never love me. She was a Princess and me, a lowly commoner. The royalty of the other planets could marry whomever they chose. But Serena was bound by law because of her status. They had to keep the powerful bloodline pure. 

I looked down at the girl in my arms. It was then that I realized she had stopped avoiding eye contact. She was looking straight at me. I tried to lighten the conversation. 

"You must think my place is disgusting if this is what you're accustomed to" I stated with a laugh. She smiled. That was a good sign. 

"No. I like your house because it is so different from mine. Besides, it is yours. It is not disgusting." 

"Mind if I come here more often?" I asked her. It felt so good to get out of the center. Sure, it was a nice place, but I didn't realize until now I had so much to see. 

"No. Please. Come over as much as you like," Serena told me emphatically. The way she said it made her sound like she was practically begging me to come back. Maybe she did have feelings for me? No. Impossible. 

"How about tomorrow night then?" I asked. I was anxious to see her again. I knew now I could never tell her the way I felt about her. But at the same time, I knew I couldn't tell her we should just stay friends. I decided to just take things one day at a time, and whatever happened, happened. 

I knew I would always love her, whether or not she loved me. I did not know how I was going to react when her wedding day came. I would die. Especially if she told me she loved him after all. I never wanted to hear her say she loved anyone but me. 

However, I wished for her to be happy above all else. If Micah could someday make her happy, then that's the man she should be with. I left over the balcony edge and headed home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The countdown begins. 2 days until the smut arrives!


	18. A Day To Relax

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another fun bit of editing with this pic: "  
I crawled in bad and tried to sleep"

Chapter 17- A Day To Relax 

**SERENA**

Tuxedo Mask started to leave. I caught his arm just before he left. He turned to me. 

"I am sorry, Tuxedo Mask, what was your reason for coming here? I was so caught up in your being here when I needed you, I simply forgot my manners and did not ask why you paid your visit." 

He turned to me and put his hands on my shoulders. Our eyes met for a long moment. The eye I could see was the most beautiful blue I had ever seen and his lashes were the longest I had ever known. 

As he looked at me, he said, "It no longer matters." 

With that, he made his way down the balcony to the outside corridor and made his way down the steps. It was early morning by now and he paused as he passed by the gardens. 

I knew he would love them! I thought. 

I crawled in bed and tried to sleep. I drifted in and out of consciousness. I dreamed of when I was two and I was meeting Prince Darien for the first time. I saw myself walking over to him in the corner and kissing him. Except for this time, Darien kissed me back. 

I awoke to the sound of "SEREEEENA!!!!" It was Lita. 

"Yeah. Great way to wake up a sleeping Princess, Lita." I heard Mina drawl, chuckling with mock. 

"What are you doing here?" I asked yawning and slowly starting to sit up and stretch. 

"Did you forget? We were supposed to go to Earth today, Hon." Mina giggled and smiled. 

"Yeah, we're going to Hawaii. So get up! Move it! Let's get going!" 

Before I could protest Lita picked me up and threw me over her shoulder. I was definitely awake now! Mina chose a cute summer outfit and bathing suit and set them on my bed. Meanwhile, Lita had set me down in the bathroom and started a shower for me. I put up my hair considering I had just gotten a shower not seven hours ago and got in quick. 

I dressed and we transported to Earth using the Silver Crystal. We set up beach chairs and umbrellas on a beach and began covering ourselves in suntan lotion. We swam in the warm waters for a while. We did not bring anything to play within the water, so we were tired of it quickly. 

We got out and rinsed off the sand and salt in the public showers along the beach. We went back to our chairs and decided to get a great suntan. It did not take long for the conversation to turn to my affair with Tuxedo Mask. 

"So how are things going with you and Tux?" Mina inquired without looking at me. She had put on shades and was now sitting with a sun reflector in her lap. 

I told them the goings-on of last night, starting with Micah and ending with Tuxedo Mask. I informed them he genuinely cared about me and Micah was hurting me. I knew he hated to see me cry. I was just so glad he was there for me. They both expressed they were glad I had found someone to care about me. 

Mina said she had talked to Raye about the situation with Micah and she and Sharon were plotting something. After all, that is what they had been doing since childhood. They were always planning one scheme or another. Then I mentioned my dream. 

"Hey. Isn't Prince Darien's Memorial close to here?" Lita asked. 

"Yeah. I haven't been in a while. We should go," Mina added. 

We packed up and headed off to the memorial. When we got there, all of us got very quiet. Lita looked especially sad. She and Darien used to be best friends. I felt a pit in my stomach as I remembered Darien. 

We stayed there a while and then Mina said, "Listen. I think we should all treat ourselves to some ice cream. We're supposed to be having fun. Not that Darien didn't mean anything to us, but I can't take all this sadness right now." 

I agreed with Mina and we left. We went to a famous ice cream parlor. It was Amy's favorite place to go. That gave me an idea. 

"Do you think we should invite Amy, Raye, and Michelle down?" I suggested. 

"Sounds good." Lita agreed nodding her head slightly as she sipped her milkshake. 

Soon they all arrived. 

"So where are we off to?" Raye inquired. Raye was always the one looking for adventure and always on the move. 

"Just relax, Raye," Michelle said, "We are in one of the most beautiful places in the whole universe." 

"Not quite as beautiful as Venus," Mina corrected, shooting a look at Michelle as if to say, "My planet's the best." 

Amy came back to our table and sat down. She had a huge hot fudge sundae in her hands. 

"That looks good!" Raye said, grabbing a spoon. Soon everyone had a spoon and, to Amy's dismay, her Sundae was gone. She was always the forgiving one, though. She picked up a magazine and started to read. 

"Hey, you guys! This looks like so much fun! We should all go to the beauty and health spa," Amy suggested. "It's doesn't seem to be far from here. What do you think?" 

Needless to say, we all opted for the spa. We got up and started to leave when Raye exclaimed, "Hey! Where's Lita?" 

We stopped and looked around. 

"There she is!" Mina cried out pointing. Lita had stopped to flirt with a boy in the ice cream parlor and was now writing his number down on her hand. She ran to catch up to us. 

"Who was that?" Mina asked pointedly. 

"His name is Andrew! Isn't he cute? He reminds me of my old boyfriend Freddy!" 

The group groaned. If Frederick had never graced the planet Jupiter, our lives would have been better off. We made it to the Salon. I got my nails, hair, and make-up done for the first time in what felt like ages. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. I had forgotten what it was like just to be with my friends and not have to attend to business. It seemed I never saw the other Princesses except at royal social functions and to have class. Then there, of course, was the never-ending Court sessions. It was tedious work. But now I was just out to have a good time. 

After the spa, we went to Michelle's favorite mall...on Neptune. I had not been to Neptune since I was four. It was nice to see it again. It was always so lush and green there. 

We shopped for the rest of the day. I bought a new pair of earrings and a pair of sunglasses. It was so unlike me just to let myself relax. I could not remember the last time I had done anything truly just for pleasure. 

We were about to leave the mall when I spotted a nightgown. It was pure white satin. It had lattice ties up the sides and spaghetti-straps with a low neck (actually, it came down so far, it barely covered the mannequin's bust). With its high side slits, it was the perfect gown. 

I ran into the store and tried it on. It was stunning. I am sure to get Tuxedo Mask to notice me as more than a friend in this. 

I bought it. I left the store and we returned home. My friends stayed for dinner. I was not really paying much attention to the conversation, though. My mind was already with Tuxedo Mask. I could not wait until I had him all to myself, tonight. 

When my friends left, I raced to my room. I went to the bathroom and stated retouching my make-up. I could hear the rain and thunder outside. I was relieved I had gotten home in time. I undid my hair and let it fall over my back and shoulders. 

I undressed from my day's clothes and put on my bathrobe. Luckily, I had gotten a shower in the spa, so I did not need one now. It was then I heard a knock on my balcony door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The smut comes tomorrow. Also, I have found the original author's name for this piece. They went by Jupiter Princess. If they have any new work let me know. I'll gladly link to it.


	19. A Night To Remember

Chapter 18- A Night to Remember 

**DARIEN**

It was seven. I had been squirming all day. I had drifted in and out of sleep until one in the afternoon. I finally gave up on sleep and got up. 

If someone had told me, a year ago, that I was going to fall in love, I would have laughed in their face. I would've never pictured myself losing sleep over a girl, much less one who didn't even return my affection. 

Finally, I decided enough was enough. I was going to head over to Serena's. I opened my door and managed to slip out unnoticed. I was no more than five minutes into my walk when a torrential downpour commenced. I wondered if I should not turn back and wait for it to let up. Then I thought that I was already wet, so what good was waiting. 

I kept walking. I got colder and colder as I continued. I felt my hands start to go numb. It was terrible. I was almost halfway to the palace, so there was no use turning back now. I crossed my arms for warmth and kept on. 

About twenty minutes passed and I was freezing. The temperature had dropped dramatically and I was soaked. I began to shiver and I struggled to keep warm. 

Finally, the palace was in sight. I was now shaking uncontrollably. I could barely walk. After what seemed like an eternity, I reached the palace. I went around back and slowly was able to scale the stairs. I knocked on her window. 

**SERENA**

I opened the bathroom door. That is when I saw him. He could barely stand up. I quickly ran to the door to let him in. He was soaked and freezing. I had never seen anyone shake so badly.  
I was worried. He could have died out there from exposure. His hands and face were red, a definite sign he was nearly frostbitten. I helped him into my room and led him to the bathroom.

"Tuxedo Mask, are you okay? I am sorry! I did not even think about the rain. You could have died from exposure out there. I do not know what I would do if you were no longer here. I need you, Tuxedo Mask. I can not live without you! I am so sorry!" 

I felt tears begin to well up in my eyes as I said that he could have died. I would never forgive myself if he was hurt because of me. I helped him to the sitting chair in the bathroom. I felt his cheek and forehead. It was like touching ice itself. I did not think it was possible to get that cold. 

I walked to my bath and turned it on lukewarm. As soon as the water felt like it was warming, I helped him take off his shirt and pants. I took them out to dry in the dryer down the hall. I wanted to do it myself so that none of the servants got suspicious. 

"Just take off your boxers, get in the shower, and turn up the water's temperature as you warm up." 

I shut the door behind me. Then I realized I could dry them by using telekinesis. It would be safer than risking a servant catching me. I dried them and cracked the bathroom door enough so I could slip the clothes onto the counter. I noticed his boxers were sitting at my feet. I dried them quickly and set them on top of his pants. 

I glanced up briefly and saw his nude form through the shower glass. It had fogged up, but I saw the color of his skin and his slow movements as he tried to warm himself. I quickly looked away and scolded myself for being so horrible. Here the man was, almost dead, and all I could do was peek in on him during his shower? 

I shut the door again and sat down on my bed. Why would he walk through such big of a storm just to see me? He could have come another day and just explained. Surely he knew he could have done that. 

Then it occurred to me. He had the same feelings for me and wanted to see me as badly as I wanted to see him. A feeling of elation washed over my being. I smiled and drank in the thought Tuxedo Mask could be mine, at last. 

I felt a pang of mischievousness hit me. I reached for my new nightgown. Well, if the shower does not work, this sure will! 

**DARIEN**

She closed the door. I stripped the rest of the way and felt the water. It was scalding hot to my hand. I knew it was actually room temperature, but to my cold skin, it felt like liquid fire. I eased my way into the water and slowly started to warm up. 

If Serena were here, I'd be sure to heat up fast. I thought as I let the warm water run over me. This was actually the first warm shower I could ever remember taking. The community center had no water heater and so my showers were cold. This was nice. 

Soon I was starting to feel like the water was cold. I turned up the temperature and started to think clearly. Serena had said she couldn't live without me. Could it be that she returned my emotions? She must! Oh, Serena, I love you too! I would never leave you! I was so happy. 

But as usual, my mind did not let that last long. I was beginning to dislike my sensible side. Now I had the problem of committing treason. If anyone found out about our love, I would be executed. It did not take me long to realize that either way meant death. I would also die if I was forced to face every day alone, without Serena. 

I decided I would rather die happy and with her than to die alone without her. I picked up her shampoo bottle and turned the water heat up. I smelled the shampoo. It was coconut. Her hair always smelled like this shampoo and it drove me crazy. She drove me crazy. 

I realized I was warm again and turned the shower off. I grabbed a towel and dried off. My clothes were sitting on the counter by the door. I picked up my boxers, which were also dry. I had left them by the door so she could dry those, too. I dressed and opened the door. 

When I saw what she was wearing, I could barely stand. She was incredibly sexy. She was wearing a nightgown that covered everything, but barely. 

I walked over to her as soon as I was able. I took her in my arms and just held her. When she put her arms around my shoulders, I almost collapsed. "Thank you for helping me, Serena.]," I whispered in her ear. 

She pulled away only far enough to look me in the face. Still, with my arms around her waist, she took her right hand and brushed my cheek, sending waves of passion running through me. I heard a small cry of helplessness escape my throat. 

"You are welcome. I was worried about you. I was afraid you might get sick and leave me." 

I looked at her slowly resting my forehead against hers, now able to look directly into her gorgeous blue eyes. 

"I would never leave you, Princess." 

"But if you lost your life, you would have no choice," She told me. The beginnings of tears began to develop in her eyes. 

"Serena, you are my life. The only way I would lose my life, is if I lost you." With that, I let my hand rise to her chin and held her face as I brought her lips to mine. I kissed her. I felt a raging fire run through me. 

First, we started with little kisses, barely brushing each other's lips. Then she was the one to hold the kiss and slowly let her small tongue slip into my mouth. I returned her affection full-heartedly. 

Then she pulled away. "I love you, Tuxedo Mask." 

She loved me! "I love you, Serena, my Princess." 

I took her back into my arms and kissed her again. 

**Fly On The Wall**

They kissed for a long time. Finally, they broke for air. Serena left his arms and brought him to the bed. She got up on it and pulled him to the side. Her bed was very high. 

She sat on the edge and wrapped her legs around his back and kissed him again, this time allowing her tongue to slip out and caress his right away. As the kiss deepened, Tuxedo Mask began letting his fingers play with the ribbons holding her dress together on the sides. He began moving his hands all the way up to her neck then slowly started to let them slide down her chest. 

"Is this okay with you?" he asked out of breath from just having broken their kiss. Serena nodded. 

She took his hand and placed it on her breast. Tuxedo Mask kissed her again and began to cup her breast and squeeze it gently. Serena let out a muffled squeal of pleasure against Tuxedo Mask's lips. He left her lips and began kissing her down one side of her neck. He moved the spaghetti straps off of her shoulders with his other hand. He took her breasts in both hands and rubbed them. He felt her nipples harden under the fabric. He slowly pulled the nightgown down to expose her naked body. 

He was going slow enough so she could protest at any time. But no such complaint was made. She was as eager to do this as he was. She laid back on the bed and helped him get the gown off. She was beautiful. 

Tuxedo Mask stood there for a moment just looking at her. Serena squirmed as Tuxedo Mask examined her body for the first time. She hoped she pleased him. But Tuxedo Mask could not help but be pleased with the sight before him. Serena had the most beautiful blonde hair that now was under her body and a few wisps came down around her breasts. They were huge and now aroused with fairly big hardened pink tits, thanks to his touch. Tuxedo Mask let his eyes travel down her body and over her flat stomach down to her tuft of blonde hair. He looked at her long curvaceous legs and wanted nothing more than to feel them pulling him deep inside her body. 

"Damn it, Serena! You are more perfect than I imagined you would be!" 

Serena smiled, glad she passed his test and sat up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and began to undo the buttons on his shirt. She kissed the newly exposed skin as she undid each button. She slid the shirt off his shoulders and ran her hands down his chest. It was so hard and toned that she felt her breath escape her. She leaned in and flicked her tongue over his nipple. He groaned with pleasure as she did this and felt ready to explode right then. But he knew he couldn't yet. 

Serena undid his pants and let them fall to the floor. Tuxedo Mask stepped out of them and let Serena pull down his boxers. He watched Serena, waiting to see her reaction and shook with anticipation. Serena was surprised by the size of the bulge in his boxers. She slid off the boxers to expose him. 

The boxers fell to the floor and she looked at him for a short while before looking up and saying, "I did not expect it to be that big, Tuxedo Mask." 

He grinned at her and narrowed his eyes. He let out an animal-like growl and playfully crawled up on the bed next to her. They laid in the middle of the bed and Serena sat up. She sat between Tuxedo Mask's legs and started rubbing his inner thighs. Serena let her hands work their way up until they reached his cock. She touched the shaft gently, swirling her finger around it. Tuxedo Mask gasped and looked at her. He realized she did not know what to do next. 

"Here. What are you trying to figure out how to do?" he asked, sitting up slightly. 

"How do I give you a blow job?" Serena asked, rather embarrassed to have to ask. "Alright. Take it in your mouth and move your head up and down while you suck back at the same time. Don't be afraid to use your tongue, but be careful of your teeth." 

Serena lowered her head and took him in her mouth. She flicked her tongue over his head and tried to get it to go inside the top. Tuxedo Mask squirmed as sounds of pleasure escaped his throat. What she was doing felt so good to him. Serena excited she was able to elicit such sounds of pleasure from him plunged forward. She licked his underbelly and began to softly run her fingers through the hair above his cock. 

Tuxedo Mask thought he was going to release in her mouth if she continued. Besides, he wanted to please her now. 

Serena stopped and Tuxedo Mask pulled her up the head of the bed. She laid her head down on the pillow as Tuxedo Mask crawled on top of her. He took one of her breasts in his mouth and teased the other one with his hand by grabbing her tit between his index finger and his thumb. He proceeded to make circles around the expanse of her whole breast and back up to the tit, all the while teasing the other breast with his tongue, flicking it back and forth and sucking gently. 

He allowed his free hand to slide down her body and feel her pussy. He heard her cry out with pleasure as his fingers, now wet with her juice entered her body. He found her G-spot and moved his fingers against it quick. 

"Oh Tuxedo Mask! I did not know it would feel this good," She cried grabbing his head and pulling his lips against hers. Tuxedo Mask slowly slid out of her and wrapped his arms around her slender body. 

"Are you sure about this Serena? We don't have to go all the way if you don't want to. We can stop right here," he wondered, pressing his forehead against hers. 

Serena shook her head. "No, keep going," she told him, out of breath. 

Tuxedo Mask knew this would hurt her. He moved his body in between her legs and plunged into her. Serena cried out and almost began to tear up. 

"Oh, baby, I'm sorry. I should have told you. This is the only time it will hurt, I promise. When we do it again, it will be much better. Do you want to stop?" 

Serena said. “no, I want to continue.” 

Soon the pain subsided and she began to be able to meet Tuxedo Mask thrust for thrust. Serena became so overwhelmed, she forgot to control her powers. She felt a surge of energy rising in her body but did nothing to stop it. It emitted from her and engulfed both of them. Slowly it became wisps of light as it circled their bodies. 

Serena and Tuxedo Mask became able to read each other's thoughts completely. Not only that, but they were able to feel each other's sensations. When Serena touched his back, she felt the same sensation on her back, doubling their pleasure. 

With the ability to feel each other's pleasure, Serena and Tuxedo Mask climaxed together, unable to control the cries escaping their throats. Tuxedo Mask pulled out of her and laid beside her. He brought her body close to his and after a while began to once again run his fingers around her warm breasts. He began to cup them and she pulled him back on top of her. They kissed and made love until the early hours of the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The smut has arrived. There are two other chapters in this saga that contain smut but those will come later in the month.


	20. Lovers At Last

Chapter 19- Lovers at Last 

**SERENA**

I awoke to the soft touch of Tuxedo Mask's hand on my face. My first reaction was to hold it there, but I let his hand rub my cheek a while longer before taking it in my hand and kissing his wrist. 

I opened my eyes to find his face very close to mine. He was looking at me and smiling. I rolled closer to him and moved around so my head rested on his chest. He began mindlessly running his fingers through my long hair. I pulled the covers down to just under my arms. I put my arm around his body and was now lying half on him. I looked into his face. 

"Good morning, my love," He said as he touched my cheek and rubbed it with his thumb. 

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" I asked. 

"Oh, Serena. I slept better than I have in years," he replied. I leaned in and kissed him. He returned the kiss full-heartedly and pulled the covers over our heads. I laughed. 

We made love again. Afterward, we stayed close and talked to each other. Now that each of us knew how the other felt, we found a new level of trust and openness we had never had before. He was lying to my right and was now on his side. I reached out and touched the patch over his left eye. It seemed to surprise him. 

"Do you ever take this off?" I asked, curiosity suddenly sparking my interest. Tuxedo Mask squirmed and the smile left his face. 

He looked away. "No. I never have." 

"What happened?" 

He paused for a long moment as if gathering strength to answer the question. "I was in a plane crash. I woke up and I had a laceration that reached all the way across my eyelid and part of my brow. It scarred. The eye is fine, but I don't like to look at the scar." 

He said it as if he was ashamed. As if he was traumatized by it. It was just a scar. I had one on my stomach from surgery when I was eight. Besides, most men loved showing off their “battle scars.” 

"Can I see?" I asked. 

Tuxedo Mask sighed. He obviously did not want me to know this bothered him so much. His hands shook as he raised them to the patch. I had always found the patch sexy. But now I wanted to see what it was he felt the need to hide. 

He removed the patch and I saw his full face for the first time. He avoided eye contact with me and I could tell he was embarrassed. The scar was not all that bad. It was long, but not quite as puffed out as most scars I had seen. I reached to him and brought his face close. I kissed the scar. I kissed his temple and made my way back to the scar. It was only at this point I realized he was crying. He put his head against my chest. I did not understand why this bothered him so much. All I knew was I would comfort him. I held him against me and ran my fingers through his hair. 

"I love you so much, Tux. I would never do anything to hurt you. It is alright." 

I held him a while longer. Then he started kissing my neck and face before he raised himself out of the bed. He sat up and leaned over the edge and grabbed his clothes. He put on his boxers and turned back to me. He smiled. 

"You are so beautiful," He told me. The way he said it made me think it was a comment half to himself and a half to me. He got his pants on. I rolled over to where he was and reached down. I grabbed the shirt laying on the floor. I brought it up and sat up. I kneeled on the bed facing him. I put the shirt around his shoulders and was about to begin doing up the buttons when he said, "Serena, honestly. I need to go. You should know I won't be able to tear myself away from you if the last image of you is you doing up my shirt, naked." 

I looked down. I had forgotten I, too, needed clothes. He handed me my robe which I had placed on the chair. I put it on and did up his shirt. 

"You are coming back tonight, right?" I asked. 

"Princess, you couldn't keep me away if you tried." He gave me one final kiss before departing by way of my balcony. He certainly had gotten bolder. Before, he would never be caught going in and out of his house during the day time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of cuddling and bedroom talk in this one. It's adorable.


	21. Flirting With Demons

Chapter 20- Flirting With Demons 

**Serena**

Tuxedo Mask and I continued seeing each other. He would sneak into my room late at night and we would either make love or just talk. Sometimes we would spend all night reading to each other. I loved him so much. 

He came to the palace four times a week. We did not want to risk every day. Besides, we did need our sleep. We would have become nocturnal. 

Whenever there was a social function commencing in the palace, we would not see each other that night. There were too many people around and it would mean a higher probability of being noticed. 

During our talks, I really got him to open up. He told me all about the crash and how he found his way through the woods until he got to the community center. He also told me why the patch was such a sore subject with him and how he had vowed never to show it to anyone. When he told me that, I finally understood how much I had impacted his life. He went from completely against humanity, to showing a Princess (a rich snob, in his old opinion. He had always regarded royalty the ultimate in humanity's downfalls) his most personal and humiliating trait. I told him it did not matter and that it was not all that bad. He then explained that he felt it was just another thing setting him apart from everyone else. 

I never quite understood why he hated humans and their violent tendencies and yet it still bothered him that he was set apart from us. Twisted reasoning if you ask me. But he was different now. He said through me, he was able to see the good along with the bad. The other side of the story. 

After five months, he admitted to me that he had killed someone. I knew he regretted it without him even saying he did. He was simply so against violence that for him to have done it himself must have made him feel like the biggest hypocrite. 

He told me about his theories and where he drew them from. I learned more from talking with him in one night than I did with any of my tutors in a year. One time, I had to write an essay about human behavior based on history. My paper was so well written and researched the instructor asked me if he could publish it. I, of course, gave him permission. Tuxedo Mask laughed when I told him. He said it just went to show that tutors do not know everything and if they listen, can learn a lot from their students. Tuxedo Mask was the wisest man I knew. 

He was also the most romantic. Occasionally, I would meet him at his house for a play and we would watch it from his perch above the stage. He would hold me close and tell me he loved me during the performance, making it almost impossible to pay attention to the play. 

For my fifteenth birthday, he took me to see my favorite play, Snow White. We used the disguise power pen and sat in the second row. It was in a real theatre on Venus. He put his arm around me and caressed my hand with the other for the whole performance. It was a beautiful play. 

Afterward, he brought me to a hotel filled with red roses. He didn’t say how he got the money for it all but he assured me it was legal. I was so lost in the beautiful sentiment I didn’t question it further. Then he made a telephone call and ordered room service. After dinner, we made love to each other all night within the wonderful aroma of a thousand roses. I woke up in his arms and we spent the day on Venus. 

He returned me to my chambers that night and we parted ways. I would have never dreamed of meeting someone so cold and having him turn out to be so warm. 

Micah and my Mother were not happy with me the next day when they found out I was back. Micah had planned out a similar evening (except without the play or dinner, and not on Venus. Other than that, it was the same) but he certainly did not have the same intentions as Tuxedo Mask. I lied and said I was with Mina, who kidnapped me to a surprise party on Venus and that I had ended up spending the night there. Luckily I contacted Mina in time and she covered for me, but I could not be so irresponsible again. 

From then on Micah became increasingly abusive. He was trying to take my love and body much more vigorously now. It was a full-time job keeping him out of my quarters. I was starting to fear him in a much more real way. Occasionally I would have bruises from where he grabbed me. One time he got so violent he threw me down on my pavement balcony and tried to slam my head into the banister. 

Luckily, Mother was around and he helped me up. He told her I tripped. I nodded, confirming his story. Micah left that day and I knew he had crossed the edge of annoying to a threat. If it were not for my increasing powers, I would surely have succumbed to him long ago out of sheer exasperation. 

Now quite a few of my nights with Tuxedo Mask were spent with him holding me in his arms and comforting me. He asked me, "If Micah were to meet with an 'unfortunate accident' resulting in his death, would that help?" 

I told him I did not want him to kill again and not to stoop to Micah's level. He told me he had already planned out a way to assassinate him and all I need do was give him permission and that I need not worry about his emotional state after killing. He would be doing the universe a favor. 

As much as I agreed with him, I could not allow murder to be the solution to my problems. For now, Micah had my days and Tuxedo Mask had my nights. Needless to say, I slept in a lot and I had lots of tutoring during the day so my chances of being alone with Micah decreased greatly. 

Then the inevitable happened. We had been seeing each other for almost two years. I was sixteen now. Tuxedo Mask came over. I was wearing a new sexy underwear set that I had just bought. 

He started stripping me down when my bedroom door flew open. Yes, it was locked, but power had opened it. Micah stood in shock as he saw Tuxedo Mask and me together for the first time. Tuxedo Mask pulled me to him and reached for my robe. I dressed behind him as to not be exposed to Micah. I had still managed to never let him get my clothes off. 

Micah was furious. He lunged at Tuxedo Mask and pulled him to the ground. "You! You attacked me that night at the theatre! Now I find you in bed with my fiancé. You will die for this!" He raised his hand and in his fist, he created a fireball of raw energy. He brought it down towards Tuxedo Mask's face. 

I dove in between them. The fireball hit me in the back. I was stunned for a moment. I felt the power of the Silver Crystal absorb the energy as it hit my body. I could not move. 

"Serena! No! Serena? Are you alive? Talk to me!" I could hear Tuxedo Mask's desperate cries to me and eventually found the Silver Crystal giving me the power to fight. I tried to get up but before I could Micah had created another fireball in his hand. 

Tuxedo Mask ran at him and plowed him down and the fireball released, hitting the ceiling. They were in a fistfight on the floor when my mother appeared at the door. 

"What is the meaning of this? Serena, what is going on?" 

"Mother, I can explain..." 

"Who is that?" Mother yelled looking at Tuxedo Mask. "Did he try to attack you, Serena?" 

"Yes. He did. I saved her, Your Majesty," Micah claimed, standing up, out of breath. 

"You liar!" Tuxedo Mask screamed and punched Micah in the mouth. Micah fell to the floor. I ran to be in Tuxedo Mask's arms. He embraced me and I looked up at him. I had never seen him so angry. 

“Are you hurt, Baby?" I asked. My mother looked at me. 

"What?" was the only thing she could mutter. 

Tuxedo Mask and I were forced to explain what had transpired between the two of us. Micah sat there and listened and drank up every word. When we got to the part about Micah's abuse, he denied everything which only erupted in yet another argument. My mother was tired. It was the middle of the night and she wanted to be able to assess events rationally...with the Court. 

She separated all of us and posted guards outside of all of our doors and outside the palace. She would summon all of the Court to session in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was one of the few times I actually made a bigger edit instead of just grammar and general sentence structure. Here I added the sentences:  
"He didn’t say how he got the money for it all but he assured me it was legal. I was so lost in the beautiful sentiment I didn’t question it further."
> 
> There is a suspension of disbelief but the fact is Tuxedo Mask is established in this story as a recluse thief and there is no explanation how he would be able to perform such a grand gesture. I decided to add this little apart more to help appease my own consciousness as an editor. Again, I'm doing my best just to preserve the original themes and intent of this story and do little else.


	22. A Different Perspective

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new perspective is introduced in this chapter. Lita takes over as things start to spiral out of control for the couple.

Chapter 21- A Different Perspective 

**LITA**

I knew Serena and Tuxedo Mask had been caught the moment my family and I received an urgent command to meet on the Moon at once. I did not know what would happen to Tuxedo Mask or Serena. I felt awful. They really loved each other. Didn't that count for anything? They had been going out for going on two whole years. He made her happy. I personally thought Serena should have told her Mother about everything long ago. But then again, if she had, she might not have had as long with him as she did. 

I arrived on the Moon. An hour later, I was in a court meeting hall. Everyone was there. Even the reclusive court members were in attendance. The last time I had seen this much Royalty in one room was when Darien disappeared. 

Everyone was properly presented. "The King and Queen of Mercury and Princess Amy. The King and Queen of Earth. The King and Queen of Jupiter and Princess Lita. The King and Queen of Neptune and Princess Michelle. The King and Queen of Saturn and Princess Helen. The Queen of Venus and Princess Mina. The Queen of Mars and Princess Raye. The Queen of Pluto and Princess Sharon, Guardian of time. The King of Uranus and Princess Alex." 

All of us entered and took our seats. Each of the planets had alongside them a trusted Ambassador and two Delegates. Micah was already seated along with a man who must have been Tuxedo Mask. Queen Serenity and Serena, followed by their Ambassador, Aurora, took their seats. 

We were all sitting at what a world conference room would look like. There were six giant tables at which all of the courts were seated according to which planet they were from. The tables were set up in a rectangle shape. 

Serenity stood. "Thank you all for coming, as you know from my briefing..." 

Serenity went on to explain the situation at hand. I did not hear all that much of it. I knew the story. But looking at Tuxedo Mask... He looked familiar. I could not figure out where I knew him from. Then it hit me. Darien? Was that Darien sitting over there? The facial features, the manner, expressions... 

No. It couldn't be. If it was, the Earth royalty would have recognized their son before I did. I came out of my thoughts in time to hear the first question. 

It was from the Queen of Mercury, "Serena, why did you not stay faithful to Micah, your betrothed?" 

That was when the court shattered. After the first question, Serena spoke with such eloquence and seriousness the whole Court came to her rescue. 

"I have never been one to cause trouble. I have never stepped out of line in my life. I have done whatever I was told to do and I did it without complaint. Then at the age of thirteen, my Mother informed me that I was to marry the person I had regarded as a bully my whole life. All the children of the Court knew he was violent. He had been that way since the day I met him. However, I did not speak a word of complaint to anyone. I gave him a chance. I thought that perhaps he had changed his ways and that he would treat me differently now that I was to be his wife." 

Serena's tone changed from one of control to one of anger. "He had not changed. The first time I was presented to him he molested me and tried to take advantage of me. I was able to fight him off, but he had made his intentions clear. He told me I was nothing to him but a nice body and a way to power and I should be grateful he was marrying me because if he did not, I would have no one else I could marry." 

She paused then started talking in a calm, but a menacing voice. "When I met him, he touched me. When he was angry, he beat me. When I was tired, he used me. When I was hurt, he abused me. When I cried, he laughed at me. When I fought back, he threatened me. When he touched me, I said nothing. When he beat me, I said nothing. When he used me, I said nothing. When he abused me, I said nothing. When he laughed at me, I said nothing. When he threatened me, I said nothing. And now you all have the audacity to sit here and call me unfaithful." 

The planet Earth was the first to speak. "Believe her, Serenity. I did not believe my son, and look what happened to him!" The Queen pleaded. 

"This is outrageous! She is lying through her teeth! Don't you see she is just making this up to give her a better excuse to be with him?" Micah pointed at Tuxedo Mask. 

"That's not true! I have seen Micah hit Serena!" Mina piped up. 

"My daughter is right. I have been sensing hostility in his heart against Serena for a long while," The Queen of Venus said. "Her love is pure, so I thought nothing of it. But now it is evident that pure love is intended for another." 

"My son is not an abuser!" The King of Saturn yelled. 

"How do you know?" Sharon demanded. 

"Serena could be making this up." The King of Uranus stated. 

"I am not a liar!" Serena declared. 

"Are too!" Micah attacked. What was he, three? 

"You are the liar, Micah. Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" I yelled. 

"If we could all just calm down..." The Queen of Mercury sighed. 

The entire courtroom was in an uproar. Tuxedo Mask just sat in the corner, motionless. Poor guy. I thought. All he did was love a girl. Serenity set off a flash that went through the courtroom, silencing everyone. 

"I am going to leave with Micah. This session will recommence after my interrogation and I have reached a conclusion on his guilt or innocence." 

Serenity left with the guards, bringing Micah behind. Everyone stayed put. We all knew it would not take long for Serenity to discern a lie from the truth. A half-hour later Serenity returned with Micah. Serenity raised her hand. 

"Aurora, please escort Helen outside." 

Aurora took Helen out and when the door was shut Serenity continued. "It is my conclusion, Micah has abused Serena exactly as she claimed. I saw in his mind thoughts of what he wanted and what he had done to try and get it. Serena did not tell me of her troubles for the reason that I might be disappointed." She turned to her daughter. "Serena, I would have never wanted any of that to happen to you. I am so sorry." 

Serena had tears in her eyes. "It is alright now, Mother," she replied. 

"It is, therefore, my duty to carry out according to the law what is right. The punishment for molesting of a Princess, attempted murder, lying in a Court session, and abusing power, is execution. This sentence will be carried out five days from now." 

Micah's parents had to agree. They were upset, as most parents would be. It was a complete shock to all the adults in the room. He was rather two-faced. The Micah I knew and the Micah they knew, were two very different people. I could tell Serena was upset for them and the fact that they had to be in pain, but I could sense she was happy to finally be rid of her aggressor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goodbye Micah. The evil molester is written out of the story and no longer a part of this story and is only mentioned once more.


	23. Hope Springs Eternal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tuxedo Mask gets some visitors. That's about it. Shorter chapter.

Chapter 22- Hope Springs Eternal 

**DARIEN**

The trial for me was torture. I was being labeled a criminal for loving a wonderful person. It was nothing that I hadn't expected, though. To the people in the Court, I was nothing more than a gold digger. I couldn't blame them. From their standpoint, I looked pretty bad. 

Taking an abused girl's emotions and making it all better by manipulating her into believing I loved her. That way I could get her power and money, two things I lacked. Well, that was the way it looked. They had no idea I would love Serena just as much if she were penniless. 

I was glad Micah was going to be executed, though. I had been torn apart all those nights she would cry in my arms. When she cried, my world is thrown upside down. That was the hardest part of this trial. It wasn't what hardships it brought on me. I would gladly endure any amount of pain for Serena. But watching her cry was more than I could bear. That was torture enough for me. All I wanted to do was take her in my arms and make all of her worries fade away. 

The trial was good for one thing. I thought I recognized the Earth royalty. A personal memory, not one from a book. And Lita. I saw her and knew her. I knew her! I didn't know where or when, but she and I had been friends. Come to think of it, all of the Princesses did. But it was so far off, sort of like a dream you can't remember. 

I was in my room when a flash of light entered my eye. I turned to the window to see Raye, Lita, Mina, Sharon, Michelle, Alex, and Amy standing and sitting in various positions. Most men in my position would be overjoyed. Seven beautiful Princesses all in my room at once. 

However, I just wanted to be alone. "You flashed?" I said. 

A few of the girls giggled. I was more annoyed than joking. 

"Yes, Tuxedo Mask, we did," Alex stated. 

"Why?" I pried. 

"We want to know what's really going on," Raye told me. 

"Yeah. So do you love her? I mean love her like, marriage type of love," Lita asked. 

"Oh yes!" I said, heartbroken, sitting on my bed and putting my face in my hands. "I love her so much that I want to die because we're apart. You don't understand. I can't live without her in my life. She is my life."

I heard a chorus of "Oh”'s and "How cute"s and it made me sick. That has to be the most annoying thing about women to men. Why is it that everything nice you do for another girl results in some high pitched noise? Here I was pouring out my deepest emotions to a bunch of strangers and all they could muster was a bunch of girly noise? 

"We'll do everything we can to help. Here's a message from Serena," Mina said. I anxiously took the letter and set it down beside me. I knew if I read it now, I would break down. 

I looked at Lita. "Do I know you from somewhere?" 

Lita seemed surprised by the question. "Maybe. I gotta feeling of Deja Vu with you too. Were you born on Earth?" 

"No. It was either Jupiter or the Moon," I told her. 

"Oh. Then you aren't who I thought you could be," she said with some disappointment. 

"So, where did you come from?" Sharon inquired, folding her arms across her chest. 

"Look, no offense but I would really prefer not to talk about my personal life with all of you. I don't even know you. How do I know I can trust you?" 

Some of them looked puzzled. Raye was the first to speak. "You. Not trust us? Excuse me but we are not the ones on trial here for a possible charge of manipulating royalty. And here we are in your room, trying to see if we can help you and you’re the one not able to trust us?!" 

Raye was obviously angry at me. She must have thought I was saying I couldn't trust them because they were who they were. None of them understood what my life had been like. I sighed. There was nothing that I could say to make them understand without telling them everything. 

I began talking. I told them how I had hidden away from people and why. I also mentioned the fact that when I was seven, I was attacked. I explained everything, from the way I saved Serena, to falling in love with her, to my theories about human behavior. They all sat in shock as I explained my life. I knew that none of them had ever endured hardship as far as wondering if they'd be alive tomorrow and it was probably the first time they had talked to someone who had been through it. 

I explained how much the trial was hurting me and Serena and how much I hated to see her upset. 

Amy started to cry. "That's the saddest story I've ever heard." 

I half-smiled. These girls really were sheltered. Soon, they left, all feeling pity for Serena's and my situation. At least I might now have a chance at beating this thing. With all the Princesses pulling for Serena and me, it would be a lot easier. I loved Serena too much and now I had a glimmer of hope that we might be able to be together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tomorrow we get to my most hated subject in the world...politics.


	24. The Trial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up. Amy's parents are asshats. You have been warned.

Chapter 23- The Trial 

**DARIEN**

The next day I got up early. I had not slept all night. I ached with exhaustion, but I knew it was useless to just lay in bed. I took a shower and got dressed. The court session was to resume and 9:30. It was 9:15 and It was only then that I remembered Serena's letter. 

I reached for it and I read it. She told me how much she loved me and that we would find a way to be together no matter what. 

"I love you too, Serena," I said aloud as if I was talking to her. Somehow I got the feeling that she knew I had spoken those words. 

Every minute seemed like an eternity as the court members filed in. I saw Serena at the other end of the room. She looked beautiful, as always, but was incredibly sad. It ripped my heart out just looking at her. 

"Thank you all for coming. I hope that we can run this session in order, unlike yesterday." The Moon Ambassador, Aurora said. 

I looked over at Saturn's royalty. I knew I would never win them over. Both of the parents looked like wrecks and Helen was not in attendance. I felt terrible for the family. It must be hard to lose a son like that. 

Aurora read my accusation statement. "We are here to address the issue of this man. His name is Tuxedo Mask. Obviously this is a nickname, but his real name is not known. He stands accused of treason against the Moon Kingdom. He has gone above his status and slept with the next ruler of the Moon Kingdom. If in fact, they were to conceive a child, that child would no longer have all the power associated with Moon royalty, in other words, tainting the bloodline." 

I guess that was true. I had always pictured Serena and me one-day having children. But those children would not have the full power of the Moon, considering I had no power of my own. They would, therefore, be only half as strong as they should be to carry on the Supreme ruler title. The powerful bloodline was what kept Serenity in charge. It would cause chaos and a gigantic power struggle as all the royalty of the different planets would have equal power. No wonder it was considered treason. 

“But we love each other! It does not matter who he is or where he comes from! I love him and that should not be a crime. You can tell me a lot of things. What I can wear, how to talk, where I can go, what I can do... But you cannot order me not to love someone!" I heard Serena scream. She collapsed in a heap of tears and sobs. I wanted to shield her from the eyes of everyone in the room, but I dared not move. I felt helpless as I watched the girl I loved weep. She was only a table down from me, but she may as well have been across the galaxy. 

She eventually calmed down enough. 

"We cannot allow the bloodline of the Moon to be tainted. That is the bottom line," The King of Neptune stated. 

"I agree," The Queen of Mars spoke up, "We would not only open the possibility for civil war down the line, but we would be weakening our defenses against the Negaverse. Without the full power of the Silver Crystal, it would be impossible for us to hold them off." 

It made sense that Mars would bring up that point. After all, Mars was the planet of War. It was where many of the armies trained. 

"But do we really want to sentence them to lives filled with unhappiness? If Serena is miserable, she will not be able to fight, anyway," The Queen of Venus said. 

That put a smile on Mina's face and she nodded seriously. "I agree." 

"I think so too. Serena finds strength in Tuxedo Mask whether or not he is royalty," Lita proclaimed. 

"To my understanding, he's not a bad fighter himself," Raye added, folding her arms. 

"But what we are worried about is not Serena and our defense now. We are well set for battle now. But in the future, there could be problems. That is why we are worried," The King of Uranus said. 

"But what kind of an example are we setting for our children when we make a rule that love comes second to power?" The Queen of Pluto put in. 

"They will understand when they are older why we did what we did what we did," the King of Saturn stated. 

"Yes, but first impressions last throughout your whole life. If that is the message you want to send to your kids, fine. But if I were a child and saw my parents putting power over love, I would not be taught out of that state of mind easily," Sharon said. 

"Why do we not impregnate Serena with Micah's child and then let Serena and Tuxedo Mask get married. That way they could be married and have children of their own and still have at least one pure child," The Queen of Mercury. I was going to object to that but I didn't have to. I did not like the idea of my Serena giving birth to someone else's child. 

"While that is a good idea, won't that cause too much friction between siblings? It would make raising the children impossible. Eventually, jealousy would take over when the children grew up and there would then be a civil war inside the Moon palace itself. On top of that, how would you feel if you found out the only reason your Mother had you was to 'keep the bloodline pure' and that she actually hated your Dad?" The Queen of Jupiter rationalized. 

"But that is a big 'if'. Suppose they don't end up fighting for power?" The Queen of Mercury argued. 

"Is it worth the risk in your opinion?" The King of Jupiter asked. 

"I will not be impregnated with that man's child. I refuse to have anything of his inside of me," Serena declared. 

"If it is the only way we can find for you to be with your Tuxedo Mask, would you do it? If you really loved him as much as you say, you would." The Queen of Mercury told her. Serena glared at her. She was never one to speak against an adult. 

"Maybe we should impregnate her and then just not allow Tuxedo Mask and her to have any children," The King of Uranus suggested. 

"But they love each other. We would be depriving Tuxedo Mask of having children and the right of a husband and a wife to have a child. You can't possibly take that away without consent," The Queen of Venus stated. 

"If they want to be together so badly, they will have to be willing to make sacrifices." The King of Neptune. 

"Yes, but suppose the child that Micah was the father of died before he could marry. Then what?" The Queen of Jupiter asked hotly. 

"I think that it is horrible that Serena and Tuxedo Mask are being forced to go through all of this just to earn the right to be in love," The Queen of Earth blurted out. It was the first comment Earth had thrown out. 

"Would you rather risk an all-out war just so that these two children can live together?" The King of Uranus stood up. "Serenity this is outrageous! The punishment for treason is death. Why is this being debated? We can't possibly allow these two to be wed! It would throw the Kingdom off the very foundation it was built upon. The ability to fully use the power of the Silver Crystal. The Moon's bloodline is the only one that has that kind of purity. If any of us tried to use it, it would work, but not completely. Is this, puppy love worth sacrificing that?" 

"Either we let them marry, or they'll just do it behind our backs. Serena will cheat on whomever she is married to because he is not the man she wanted to be with. We might end up with a tainted bloodline anyway. And let's say that we do execute Tuxedo Mask and Serena marries another Prince from another galaxy. We would then have forced her into a loveless marriage and the child would then be raised in a loveless home," Queen Venus got a few applause from the Princesses. 

It was at that time Helen was brought into the room. She sat down with her parents and listened. 

"What's the big deal with a loveless marriage. The child will probably mainly be raised by a Nanny even if the parents were in love," The King of Mercury pointed out. 

"Even so, children pick up on things and emotions that their parents have and are affected by it," Queen Pluto stated. 

"I can attest to that," said Helen. 

"What are you talking about? Hush child," Queen Saturn scolded. 

"Sorry Mother. But you must admit that a loveless marriage never made anyone in our family very happy." 

The room was silent. I almost laughed. Royalty was actually quite amusing. They outright insulted each other, but do it properly. 

"Impregnating me is not an option," Serena stated through gritted teeth. 

"It is her body," Lita reminded the Court. At least somebody other than myself remembered that Serena's body was not property. 

"That's right. You can't possibly be thinking of making Serena carry the child of her aggressor. Can you?" Mina asked. 

"You people make me sick!" Michelle exclaimed. Her comment was ignored. 

"The real question is, what is Tuxedo Mask's punishment for treason? He committed it, he confessed to it, and now he should pay for it," King Neptune proclaimed. 

"Sit down, Charles!" Queen Neptune ordered under her breath. 

"Isn't there any way to give Tuxedo Mask power? Could we train him or something?" Amy asked. 

"No. The problem is that we're dealing with genes. Earth, Mars, Neptune, Saturn, Uranus, Jupiter, Venus, and Pluto's Royalty all have a gene that we'll call the 'A' gene. This gene is the source of their power. Now the Silver Crystal works fully with 'AB' genes. The Moon has the 'A' and the 'B' but only passes on the 'B' to their children. The child, therefore, needs to get the 'A' gene from the Moon's mate," Aurora explained. 

"Could we give Tuxedo Mask some of Micah's blood and then amplify the power?" Helen asked. 

"No. The heart would never produce the 'A' gene," Queen Mercury answered. 

"The issue is not whether or not Tuxedo Mask can produce the 'A' gene. The issue is his punishment," The King of Saturn growled. 

"Well, it seems to me that he is merely a lowly commoner out to gain some wealth and power," Queen Mars assessed. 

"That's not true. He loves her a great deal!" Mina declared angrily. 

"That he does," Queen Venus affirmed. 

"You can tell just by the way he looks at her," Amy said. 

"He's manipulating her. Of course, he loves her. Have you looked at her? She's gorgeous!" The King of Neptune stated. This time his wife knocked him upside the head. I was starting to like Queen Neptune. 

"They're in love, they can't help it," Alex added. 

"But he's violent. After all, he attacked my son," King Saturn said. 

"Yeah. When 'your son' was about to kill Serena! How awful of him!" Lita snapped sarcastically. 

"Why don't we talk to him?" Michelle suggested. 

The whole Court turned to me. For some of them, I almost thought it was the first time they had seen me. I had just sat there throughout the whole session, waiting for someone to point out that I was in fact in the room.  
"Well, what do you have to say for yourself, you little animal?" King Uranus asked pointedly with a sneer. 

"You people all act like barbarians," I said matter of factly. 

"Excuse me?" Queen Saturn hissed. 

"Barbarians. You consider love to be a crime, defending a woman's rights; pointless, you sit around arguing about the thickness of blood, think it is acceptable to force children to grow up without knowing their parents, insult each other politely - which is rather an oxymoron. You think power is more important than people, and you sit in a hot stuffy room for hours and never offer drinks. On top of all that, we have been talking all this time and you are no closer to finding a solution than we were six hours ago. I have read about chimps who could get more done in this amount of time than you, the royal court of the Moon Kingdom. And I'm the one who's an animal?" 

The room was silent. I sat back and smiled. These people must have never realized how stupid all of this must seem to an outsider. The Princesses all cracked up followed by a few of the Kings and Queens. Serenity tried not to laugh. 

"We must sound like fools," Queen Venus stated quietly. 

"How dare you?!" King Saturn yelled. Queen Serenity glanced at him and must have said something telepathically, for he glared at her a minute but calmed down immediately. I sighed. I knew what was going to be said next. 

"Tuxedo Mask, tell us about your feelings for Serena," King Jupiter said. 

"What can I say? I was a recluse. I hid away in a far corner where no one could reach me. I lived my life one day at a time, not really worried about anyone or anything but my own welfare. Then one night, I saw a man about to kill this girl. I jumped on him and saved her life. She was knocked out, so I brought her back to my room. I couldn't just leave her there. What if the man woke up? He would certainly try to hurt her again. During the fight with the man, the man stabbed my shoulder with a knife. Serena saw I was hurt just before she left. She felt guilty I guess and came back the next day with some medicine. We talked a while and we liked what each other had to say. I had always thought humans were all cruel and violent. She put a huge hole in my theory. We continued seeing each other and we fell in love. Serena completely changed my life. She filled me with joy and helped me see the better side of humanity. I couldn't go back to the way I had been, and to live without her in my life became an unbearable thought. I love her, for who she is, and who she has made me. I am not after money or power. All I need is her. I would love her the same if she was penniless." I looked straight into Serenity's face. "If that is what I am being accused of, then I am guilty."

I glanced at Serena who had tears streaming down the sides of her face. Then I saw her eyes closed and she put her hands over her face. It was more than I could bear. 

"No, Princess...please don't cry." I ran over to her faster than anyone could stop me. I feel on my knees in front of her. I raised up to just below her eye level and pulled her hands away. I felt tears swell in my own eyes but I didn't care. I put my hands up against her cheeks. 

"Serena, it's okay. I'm right here." I brushed away her tears with my thumb. I could feel the warm water running down my cheeks as well. She fell into my arms. 

"Tuxedo Mask, hold me," she said through loud sobs and tears. I wrapped my arms around her and held her. I could hear some of the Kings and Queens protesting our display of emotion. I didn't care. 

Serenity dismissed the Court and everyone left. I was still holding Serena until the guards came over. They pulled us apart. I tried to hold on, but they pulled us apart. I could hear Serena's screams all the way down the hall as I was escorted to my room. My heart was pounding, tears flowing down my face. My temples throbbed. 

The guards told me they wanted me to win this. They wanted her to once again be happy. They told me they had heard Serena screaming my name all night in pitifully agonized wails. It would be a long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I warned you Amy's parents were asshats. God I hate politics.


	25. The Problem And The Unlikely Solution

Chapter 24- The Problem and The Unlikely Solution 

**SERENA**

That night seemed to last forever. When they brought me to my room I spent the first three hours pounding the doors to try to get the guards to let me out. I wanted to be with him. All I knew is that I could not allow anyone to kill him. If my Mother read the verdict to have him executed, I would fall on my own sword when I got back to my room. At least that way we could be together in death. 

I could not sleep. I kept wondering what tomorrow would bring. There must be some other way besides impregnating me with Micah's child. I didn't even want to think of Micah. He would be gone in three days, anyway. I was not pleased with the way the trial had gone. My mother would listen to the worst-case scenarios and base her decision on them. 

I longed for Tuxedo Mask to be with me. I needed him to be there for me. He must be going through a lot of pain, too. I spent the night just thinking about everything Tuxedo Mask and me had done together. I remembered the first time we went to Venus. Once we became open about our feelings for each other, we would take trips in disguise. 

The first time we went to Venus, we visited the pools of Utopia. It was a beautiful place with waterfalls and lagoons within a rainforest. We went skinny dipping in a secluded area and we ended up making love on the bank. 

We went to so many different places, most of which Tuxedo Mask had read about. Once we went skiing on earth. It was so much fun. I could not ski and neither could Tuxedo Mask. We were so terrible at it we ended up completely off the trail had to transport ourselves back to the lodge because we were so lost. 

A few times I managed to get him to go ice skating with me on Pluto. He did not know how and it was fun to try to teach him. I loved being with him. I always enjoyed going places that I had been many times before, places that had become old to me and had lost their appeal because he was seeing it for the first time. He would get so excited about the things that I now thought to be pretty unimpressive. He treasured what I took for granted and it was so refreshing to once again discover the beauty of the universe. 

I cried in my bed as I thought of these things. I realized these memories could soon be all I had of him left. I was roused the next morning without getting a wink of sleep. I got up and looked in the mirror in my bathroom. My eyes were red and puffy. Normally, I would have spent hours making them look perfect again. But this morning, I did not care. I had no reason to want to make myself look presentable. I could spend hours in the mirror making my eyes perfect and I would still end up looking this way after an hour. I knew the news coming was not going to be good. 

I arrived at the session. I glanced over at Tuxedo Mask. He was looking straight down at the table. He too knew that the verdict was not going to be good. 

My mother entered the room. I looked up at her. She avoided my eyes, but I could tell she had been up all night and crying, too. This was not easy for her and I knew that. I pitied her. I felt a pang of guilt wash over my body. I was the one who was putting her through this. This was my fault. This entire problem was because of me. I never thought that love, a pure and beautiful thing, could bring so much pain and so many problems. 

"Thank you all for coming," Mother started. Her voice was raspy and I could tell she was starting to lose it. "I have reached the verdict on the case involving Tuxedo Mask. The punishment for treason according to the law, is death. However, in this case, the treason was committed through the act of love and not an act of hate or revenge. Tuxedo Mask fell in love with my daughter and Serena returned his affection. I am confident that Tuxedo Mask would have not acted on his emotions had Serena not returned his emotions. Furthermore, Serena would not have returned his love if her fiancé had not been an abuser. Which brings me back to the question, 'Is this really treason?' We have never had a case like this before in the history of the Moon Kingdom. Therefore this decision is my own and not based on any prior results. I do not believe Tuxedo Mask committed treason, but the law says he did. But then there is the question of the bloodline of the Moon remaining pure. As much as I hate to say it, I cannot condone any action which may result in a future war. I have therefore decided Tuxedo Mask shall be banished, not executed, for the crimes he committed. However, I do recognize the strength of their love. It is, for this reason, they will have one more night together. In the morning, he will be transported to another galaxy." 

I was stunned. Everyone looked at me. My eyes filled with tears. My ears hurt. It took me a minute to realize why. I was screaming at the top of my lungs. I breathed in and collapsed on the floor. I stopped screaming as soon as I regained control. Everyone left and Tuxedo Mask ran over to me. Mother stopped him and came over to me. I looked up at her and just glared. My own mother was against me. I would never forgive her. Never. She had put the value of power over the value of love and me. 

She looked me in my eyes and sobbed. "I am so sorry, Serena. My dearest daughter. But I cannot bend the rules as I see fit, just to save my family pain. I wish there was another way. I hope you can forgive me...someday." 

She ran out. She knew the way I felt about her. She had been reading my emotions the whole time. She felt the pain I was going through. But that did not make a difference. The man I loved and needed was now being ripped away from me, forever. Tuxedo Mask knelt beside me and gently lifted my body off the ground. He picked me up, my body now a sobbing, lifeless piece of flesh, and carried me to my room. 

**Darien**

I carried Serena up the stairs, escorted the entire time by guards with pitting expressions on their faces. I knew they hated to see their Princess in this condition and I felt the same way. She was a mess and I could barely walk. When I got to the open door I set her down. She ran to the bed and sat there looking at me, her blue eyes red and puffy. 

I closed the door and went to her. I took her in my arms and kissed her. I climbed on the bed and sat back against the headboard. She crawled into my lap and buried her head in my chest. I held her. Slowly I undid her hair and let the stands fall down her back and over her shoulders. 

She calmed down long enough to make one plea to me. "Please, Tuxedo Mask. Do not leave me. Never stop holding me. Hold me forever. That is all I want. Just please, do not leave me. I could never bear it." 

That was it. I pulled her face up to mine and kissed her. I made love to her for the next two hours. After we finished I looked into her eyes and said, "Take a good look at your room Serena, this is the last time you will see it." 

She looked around puzzled. Then looking back at me, she said, "What do you mean?" 

"Runaway with me Serena. Please. I can't live without you. If I get to another galaxy and you aren't there, I will kill myself anyway. They may as well execute me. But if you come with me, we can build a new life. Start a family together. Serena, please say yes." 

"Yes. Of course, I will. I was also planning to kill myself as soon as you left. This way I at least get to be with you." 

I kissed her and then got dressed. We ordered dinner and had it delivered to her room. She was in a robe and was setting up the table. I opened the door when the knock came. We talked about our plan as we ate. 

I was going to be transported the next morning. Then Serena was going to do the rest. She planned to cut her arm and get some of her blood on a noose and a mangled gown. Then she was going to leave a suicide note saying she transported herself to Earth and hung herself off the side of a bridge. She would then tie a rope to the side of the bridge she mentioned in the note and make it look like the noose broke. Then she would throw the noose and the gown in the water. That way it would look like a shark or something ate her body. Thus, leaving her free to transport to me, unobserved. 

We made love a second time before ordering dessert. I was so relieved we finally had this whole thing solved. We decided she should not pack any bags because it would look like she left with me. 

After dessert, Serena disguised herself and transported to a mall on Pluto. Nobody would be looking for her because they assumed that she would be spending the night with me. She bought all new clothes and accessories. Then she bought toiletries and other essentials. She returned to her room at four in the morning. I was leaving at ten. 

We packed everything in the new luggage she had bought and we hid them in her closet. I took one of her old gowns and thrashed it with my sword. She got out the rope she had bought and I tore it after tying a noose. Next, she took one of the knives we had used at dinner and she cut herself with it. She was good about it and we spilled her blood all over the gown and noose. These we pushed under her bed and quickly healed her arm. She looked at me. We were actually doing this. 

"What if this is recognized?" She pointed out caressing my patch. 

I took it off and said, "There's not much we can do about it, is there?"

"Well, maybe..." she said. She lifted her hand and covered my eye. I saw a flash and she smiled. "There."

She handed me a mirror. My scar was healed! She had healed me! I threw my arms around her waist and held her close. 

"Thank you, Serena!" I exclaimed. We crawled in bed and waited until nine. Sure enough, at nine, there was a knock on the door. 

I quickly replaced the patch over my eye and answered it. 

"Tuxedo Mask, we're here to take you." There were five guards at the door. Serena started fake screams and crying and I managed a few tears of my own. As they walked me down the hall, I could still hear Serena in her room. The five guards all commented on how sorry they felt for us and how they wished me luck. I thanked them for their concern and told them to look after Serena for me. 

I reached my destination and found the whole court had shown up for my departure. I said nothing and concentrated on looking sad and crying as I was put on a platform for transport. 

"Goodbye, Tuxedo Mask. I am sorry," Queen Serenity said as she transported me away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Runaway and let's live together...I wonder someone if I will write something so romantic.


	26. A New Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is where I start to make a small edit but I think it adds a bit to the story. The fic keeps using the term "The Nemesis" when talking about the new enemy. I decided to drop the "the" and just refer to them as Nemesis. I think it adds a bit more clarity and makes the enemy feel less vague.

Chapter 25- A New Life 

**SERENA**

While everyone was busy wishing Tuxedo Mask farewell, I left my note and transported to Earth. I tied the rope around a pole at the designated bridge. I had to work fast. I had left the note on my bed and I was worried they would find it sooner than I could get back. I dropped the noose and the gown off the bridge. 

There was one problem. The gown didn't sink. It began to float down the river. I had to catch it! I ran to the end of the bridge and started to chase after it. I finally caught up to it, after falling and bruising myself many times. It had snagged on a log that stuck out. I crawled down the log and tried to reach it. 

When I got it, I walked back down to the bridge just in time to see my mother and the court arrive on the bridge. I heard my mother scream and my friends start to cry. Could I do this? Forsake all of my responsibilities and my friends just for one person. 

Yes! I had to. I had promised Tuxedo Mask. It would not be right to leave him in a new place all alone. I ducked under the edge of the bridge. I had to get the gown snagged next to the noose. There was only one way to do it. I dove in the water under the bridge. I swam deep enough so no one could see me from the bridge top. I went deeper and deeper until I could not swim any down because of the water pressure. I spotted the noose. I took my bracelet off and hooked it onto my gown. I made it look like an accident. I let the gown go. But now I was running out of air and if I came up for air, I knew I would be seen and this will have all been for nothing. 

All of a sudden it occurred to me. I transported myself back up on shore, but in a nearby tree. I heard someone on the bridge say they saw a flash of light underwater. Confounded! I had forgotten that when I transport, a burst of light emanates from my body. But it also occurs when royalty dies. It is a sign of their power leaving them, back into the Silver Crystal. 

I transported again, this time to my bathroom. I peeked my head out into my room. Nobody there. I ran to my closet and reached for my luggage. I was about to see Tuxedo Mask. This was the beginning of the rest of our lives together. I concentrated, tried to lock onto energy before I transported myself to wherever he was in the universe. 

**Darien**

I arrived at my destination and took a look around me. I was in a valley covered with trees and brush. I had the feeling of deja vu, considering that once again was to be lost and without help. 

I started walking. I was not in a forest this time. I shifted the bag on my shoulder. I had packed some necessities and toiletries to look like I was planning to be alone. Considering I didn't own much to begin with, my bag was very light. I looked up. At least the sun was out this time. 

I walked on, gazing at the natural beauty around me. I considered myself lucky. At least I had not been sent to a desert planet. Queen Serenity had at least put some thought into where I was going. I heard a creek running nearby. I had been walking for a long by then and I needed a break. 

I sat down on a log and watched the creek. There were little fish that kept swimming by and jumping out of the water. I opened my bag and got out a water bottle. I filled it up and raised the water to my nose. It did not appear to be polluted. I drank a sip. It tasted fine. I refilled the bottle and placed it back in my bag. 

I started to wonder if Serena had succeeded. I guessed I would see her by late afternoon. That is if she was coming. Maybe she got caught or wasn't planning to come after all. Not that I could blame her. She had a life, family, and friends to leave behind. I didn't. I began to feel guilty for asking her to run away with me. I still hoped she would come, though. 

I got up and brushed off my pants. Serena had bought me some clothes, too at the mall. I was no longer dressed in a Tuxedo. Now I wore a white shirt and a pair of jeans. They felt a little strange to me, but I became accustomed quickly. 

I started off. About an hour passed when I heard a crack of a twig behind me. I turned around. Nobody there. I continued on. 

Fifteen minutes later, 'snap'. I turned again. Still, I saw nothing. I turned back and kept walking. Now I was hearing things all around me. I stopped dead in my tracks, laid my bag down, and put my hands on my head. 

"I am unarmed. Who ever's out there, I mean you no harm."  
Eight men jumped out from all around me. I was scared stiff. They all had guns and were dressed in camouflage colors. That is why I could hear them but I never saw them. 

"Who are you?" one of the men asked. 

Good question, I thought. I could not very well tell them my name was Tuxedo Mask. I had to think of a name quick. 

"My name is Skyler," I announced, still with my hands on my head. One of the men ran to me and grabbed my bag. He backed away with it and he and another man went through my stuff. 

"No weapons," the taller man reported. 

"Search him," the one who asked my name ordered and I assumed must be their leader. The taller man who had helped search my bag now came to me and felt my clothes. He shook his head indicating I had no weapons. 

"Lower your guns," the leader ordered. "Where are you from?" 

"I am from the Moon Kingdom. I just got here. I was sent on a mission to scout out possible threats when my shuttle hit a wave of energy. The next thing I knew, I was on board a bigger ship. They had taken my shuttle and they transported me here. I think they are still in orbit. They still have my girlfriend on their ship. I am hoping they'll transport her here, too." 

Wow. That was a good story. I couldn't very well tell them I had been banished. They'd shoot me. 

"He must have been captured by the Nemesis," one of the men told the leader. 

"Yes. Or a spy for them," The leader suggested. 

"But he has no weapons with which to fight," another member pointed out.

The leader crossed to me. "Are you working with the Nemesis?" 

"Who is the Nemesis?" I asked. "I was a scout for the Moon in the Sol Moon Kingdom. Our enemies are the people from the Negaverse. Most of them are rather tall and led by a Queen Barryl. Is that who you mean? If it is, no. I am not working for them." 

"I believe him," one of them men said. 

The leader turned from him and looked at me, his face softening. "I, too, believe you. Your Negaverse and our Nemesis are one and the same. If you are enemies with them, you are friends with us. You are on the planet Trysidia. Come. We shall take you back to our town. We are one of the last colonies left in this world. Nemesis has nearly wiped us out. You may live with us if you wish. You are far from home and with no ship, you have no way to get there. You said your name was Skyler, right?" 

I nodded. 

"I am Julian." 

We walked for a while before we stopped at a small clearing to rest. "We patrol far out from our camp. You see, we are frequently attacked by Nemesis and we need all of the warning time we can get. You must understand being a soldier yourself." 

"Yes." I agreed. "I did not catch your men's names, Julian." 

"Ah, yes," He pointed to each man and said his name. "This is Tobin, J.R., Allister, Paris, Ethan, Chris, and Ryan. Ethan here has recently had a new addition to his family." 

I looked at Ethan and smiled. I hoped to one day be a father, also. 

"Her name is Natasha," Ethan declared proudly. The other men all laughed. I found out later Natasha was all Ethan ever talked about. She and his wife, Teresa. We walked on until we came to a secluded town. It was kind of like a village, no paved streets. 

One of the men, Tobin, came up to me. "Skyler. You have no place to stay tonight. My wife and I would be honored if you would stay with us. If your girlfriend shows up, she may stay, too." 

"Thank you, kind sir. You are Tobin, correct?" 

"Yes." He was a short man with brown hair and brown eyes. He was muscular from being a soldier and walked casually. Tobin walked me to his house. It was small but lovely. It was three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, and a small dining room. There was also a parlor through the kitchen. 

"This is my wife, Ivy," Tobin said. I bowed and shook her hand. 

"What are you doing?" Tobin asked puzzled. Ivy just laughed. 

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Have I offended you or your wife?" 

Tobin took my hand and shook it. "What is this?" 

"A handshake? It is a formal greeting in the Moon Kingdom. What is the custom here?" 

"This," Tobin reached out and embraced me. I hugged him back, rather embarrassed. I must have frightened poor Ivy. I apologized. Ivy just giggled and told me it was alright. Tobin explained my situation to her and she went to prepare their guest room. 

"I hope I am not any trouble, Tobin, Ivy," I said. 

"No. No trouble. I just don't want you sleeping on dirty sheets is all. Will your girlfriend be here soon?" Ivy had shoulder-length, white-blonde hair, and bright green eyes. She was almost as tall as her husband and was quite thin. Her face resembled that of a cat with her high cheekbones and her slightly slanted eyes. 

We all walked back to the guest room. Ivy retrieved the sheets from the hall closet and began taking apart the bed. Tobin and I assisted. It was at this moment Serena appeared in the room with two luggage bags and one duffel on her shoulder. She was wearing her hair down and had on a red tube top and jean shorts that barely covered her rear. 

Tobin and Ivy stopped in amazement. 

"Thank Heaven they transported you here, Fiona!" I said to a puzzled Serena. I took the luggage from her and embraced her. She muffled a 'huh?' against my chest and gave me a rather strange expression. I turned to Tobin, still holding Serena's hands. "This is Fiona, my girlfriend. Fiona, this is Ivy and Tobin. They were nice enough to let us stay with them. Are you alright, Babe? Did they release you without a fight?" 

Serena looked at me for a moment. She must have probed my mind for the next thing she said was, "Skyler, it was awful! They asked me a whole bunch of questions and I did not know what they were talking about. They took our ship and said they had already sent you away! But then they gave me my things and sent me down here when they finally believed I was telling the truth. They told me the people here would probably kill me. Oh, I am so glad you are alright and we are back together!" 

Serena turned to Tobin and Ivy. "Thank you so much for inviting us into your home. Is there anything we can do for you as payment?" 

"You can help me with dinner, Fiona," Ivy said. 

"Great!" Fiona said. She walked out with Ivy, smiling at me knowingly as they left the room. 

"You can stay until you can afford a place of your own," Tobin told me. "Thank you, Tobin. If there is anything I can do for you, let me know." 

We heard the back door open. Two children ran into the room yelling "Daddy! You're back!" 

"Skyler, these are my daughters, Lina and Stephanie. Girls, this is one of Daddy's friends. His name is Skyler. He and his friend Fiona are going to be staying with us for a while." 

They were twins. They looked about ten years old. Brown hair and green eyes, they were both beautiful. "Pleased to meet you, Lina and Stephanie," I said. 

"Pleased to meet you, Skyler." they said in unison. 

"Now how old are you two? You must be ten years old, right?" I asked. Both of them giggled and looked at each other with their hands covering their mouths. 

"No. We're five months old." Lina said, beaming. I looked at them. 

"Five months? You pulling my leg?" 

The girls laughed and ran out. I looked at Tobin. "Five months?" 

"Yes. Five months. Why is that so hard to believe?" I sighed. "Where I come from, five-month-olds are about this size." I made the size of a baby and now it was his turn to gasp. 

"That does not leave you much time to be grown up then, does it?" Tobin asked, amazed. 

"How long is the average life span here?" I asked. "The oldest age we get to is six years. I think there have been a few who have made it to seven, but it's rare. Why how old are you?" 

"Around nineteen or twenty years old. I am not exactly sure." 

Tobin's mouth hit the floor. "Nineteen? How old is your girlfriend?" 

"Sixteen." 

"I do not believe you," Tobin laughed. 

"No, truly. Ask her." 

Tobin left the room with me close behind. Tobin went up to Serena and looked her in the eyes.

"Fiona, how old are you in years?" Tobin asked. 

"Tobin!" Ivy gasped. "You must never ask a woman her age!" 

"No, it is alright," Serena told Ivy. "I am sixteen." 

Ivy dropped the pan. "Sixteen? Years? You people in the Moon Kingdom sure live a long time! How old do you get?" 

"Royalty lives until they are killed or they choose to die. Commoners live to be about Eighty or Ninety." 

Needless to say, it took a while to get used to this new planet. Luckily Serena had brought things to trade rather than money. She did have some gold, which did hold the same value here. 

That night Serena and I sat up talking quietly. We were sitting up under the covers with our backs up against the headboard. 

"We did it, "Skyler." Now we can finally live together and share our love openly with others. It felt so good when you called me your girlfriend! Oh Tuxedo Mask, I am so happy." 

"I am too Serena. But we have to be careful. Call me Skyler now. You are Fiona, a daughter of a Delegate, and I was a soldier for the Moon Kingdom."  
I laid my head down on the pillow. I had no pajamas so I slept in my boxers. 

Fiona didn't seem to mind, though. She had brought the sexy nightgown she had worn the first time she seduced me. She was wearing it now. 

I rolled over and looked her in the eyes. "It just occurred to me, Fiona. Serena and Tuxedo Mask have made love several times. But Fiona and Skyler have not." 

I raised an eyebrow. Fiona giggled. "We shall fix that. But we must keep quiet," Fiona said. 

It was 'quiet' for the next three hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They are adorable together aren't they.


	27. A Question Of Importance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember,
> 
> Serena=Fiona  
Tuxedo Mask=Skyler

Chapter 27- A Question of Importance 

**DARIEN**

I signed up to train to be a warrior. Fiona had talked me into it. I figured it wouldn't be so bad. I enjoyed spending time with the army guys. I loved being outdoors and talking with these people. It was an experience that was new to me. Before this, the only person I had had even a semi-long conversation with was Fiona. I had been an outcast. But now, I was accepted for who I was and what I could do. 

I never really went through an exact training procedure. Since the army was small, I just got assigned to a group and learned as I went along. I was assigned to a group of six. I made it seven. Our leader was named Alexander. The second in command was Brent. The other four were Derrick, Lucas, Stephanie, and Kevin. This particular group was quite relaxed. They did train me well, but I had a hard time keeping up with all their jokes. 

We had the day shift. At night, we traded posts with another group of nine. I caught onto my job quickly. Our main objective was to hide in the wooded areas and watch the skies and the ground for Nemesis. I soon found out why the Trysidians were terrified of this enemy. 

They told me the horror stories of what had happened to their ancestors. It became my duty, as well as the other men's duty, to make sure Nemesis did not succeed again as it had on some of the other colonies. It was also my duty to protect the other men in my group, and in battle I defended anyone. I took the job of ensuring the welfare of my group seriously. 

One day, one of the men saw a snake that was about to bite Derrick. I crept up from twenty yards away and didn't make a sound. Derrick was frozen and the others did not know what to do. They knew if they spooked the snake, it would attack. I crept up silently and then cut off the head with one quick slash of my sword. 

Alexander came up to me and looked me in the eyes. "You are here to be trained by us. However, you were silent while sneaking up on that creature. It seems to me that the army should be taking lessons from you." 

First I taught my group how to sneak around. It was easy, really. They already had the necessary skills, they just needed to learn how to use them. When that went over so well, Alexander reported me to his superior. I was called in and talked to by the head of the army, Montgomery. He said he wanted me to begin training the other groups immediately. They needed all the help they could get. I agreed.  
I remembered the first time they tried to ambush me. I knew that they were there. Had they been silent, I would have been completely surprised. That night I went home to tell Fiona the good news. 

"Fiona, this means I will not have to patrol anymore. I will be in town, training the men. That allows me to come home sooner." 

Fiona beamed at me and threw her arms around my neck. She kissed my lips. She was so affectionate. I would have to do something nice for her. I loved her so much. 

"That is good news, my love. Which brings me to a question that I have had for quite some time now. As you know, I have been working at the daycare for almost two months now." She started as we walked down the hallway to the bedroom. "

Yes, I know. And you love it, Fiona." I said, sitting down on the bed. She crawled in the middle with me and looked me in the eyes. 

"I love children, and working with them has made me realize how much I want one of my own. Skyler... Could we have a baby?" 

**Serena**

He fainted. I had never seen a man faint before in my life! I lightly slapped his face. 

"Skyler. Skyler! Wake up Skyler!" I said, begging him to come to. He had fallen onto the bed and I was now propped up over his body. He was motionless. I did not think this was a good sign as far as my question. His eyes slowly opened and he sat up. 

"Skyler! I have never seen a man faint before in my whole life! I did not think that it would be such a problem." I stated. Skyler closed his eyes and rubbed them with his left hand, grabbing his nose and pressing his eyes at the same time. 

"Fiona, a baby is a big step. It's not that I don't want one. I do want children and I want you to Mother them, but isn't it a little soon for that? We are barely settled here. Why don't we wait?" He opened his eyes as he told me he wanted me to mother his children. 

I sighed. He was right. We had barely gotten our feet on the ground and here I was asking to have a child. I was only seventeen and he was probably only twenty or twenty-one. I felt bad for troubling him. 

He saw that I was disappointed. He took me in his arms and pulled me into his lap. 

"I love you, Serena," he whispered into my hair. He always called me Serena when I was upset. I guess it was his way of showing me that he still loved me the same as before. "I just don't think I'm ready to be up all night rocking and feeding a baby yet. I want to enjoy just having you and living with you the way we want to right now. Not tied to anything or anyone. But if it means that much to you, I will be happy to Father our child now." 

I glanced up at his face. 

"Working with the kids is fine for now, Skyler," I said. I knew we would one day have a baby, but it did not have to be right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fainting at being asked to be a dad. Lame.


	28. Ghosts Of The Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember moving forward, Tuxedo Mask and Serena are in disguise.
> 
> Skyler=Tuxedo Mask  
Fiona=Serena
> 
> Enjoy.

Chapter 26- Ghosts of the Past 

**SERENA**

First thing in the morning I got up and went to the top drawer. Skyler had unpacked everything the night before. I opened the drawer and pulled out a small sack. It was some of the gold coins I had brought. I got dressed and attached the sack to a belt loop of my shorts. I was wearing a pair of black short shorts, a white tank top and a jean jacket over the top. 

I went to Skyler's side of the bed. 

"Baby, I am going to exchange this gold for currency," I told him. He grunted a reply and answered me by pulling the covers over his head. 

Ivy was already up with the twins. She just washing the plates from breakfast. 

"Good morning Ivy, Lina, Stephanie," I greeted them. 

"Why, I suppose it is, isn't it?" Ivy answered me. I realized I would have to stop using Moon expressions. 

"Ivy, where is the nearest bank?" I asked. 

"Bank? What do you mean dear?" Ivy asked. 

"Um... Where do you exchange money or get money from?" 

"Oh. You want to go see the Creditor." 

"Yes. Where is the nearest Creditor located?"

"Oh, don't worry about it, Fiona. I'll take you there myself. I wouldn't dream of sending you out there alone with everyone in the town staring at you! I have to drop the twins at school anyways." 

Ivy cleaned up the twin's hands and put on their jackets. We headed out the door and walked down the street. The twins walked ahead of us and were skipping and giggling with each other. I could sense a feeling of true bliss within them. I figured their school must have been a lot more exciting than mine. 

Ivy dropped the twins off at school and we headed down the street to the Creditor. 

"Thank you so much, Ivy. I just need to get currency here so Skyler and I can buy a house of our own. We do not wish to impose forever, you know." 

"Buy a house? You and I come from two very different worlds, Fiona. Here, there are no houses for sale. You buy the materials and draw up the plans, then the whole town builds your house together. It is almost as big a social event as a wedding. It is just another way to get to know the people in the town." 

Well, I could not argue. It would be fun. I was beginning to like this planet. Except I thought it would be depressing to outlive everyone I knew. I was already going to outlive Skyler. I figured I would forfeit my life at the time that he died. That way, we did not even have to leave each other. I could not live my life happily without him there. 

We reached the Creditors office and I walked up to a man behind a counter. He was old, probably five. He had white hair, no beard, and had a round belly. 

"Excuse me. I was wondering if you could help me," I said reaching for my pouch as I approached the counter. 

"I probably can. I haven't seen you before, you new in town? Oh, you are probably Fiona. Staying at Tobin's house, right? Word gets around quick in our town. You were lucky to survive the Nemesis. Now, what can I do for you?" 

I was shocked. I had never been assessed like that in my life. The whole town already knew everything about us. I almost felt the way I did when Tuxedo Mask knew everything about me from books. I just could not seem to get any privacy, no matter where I go! 

I laughed. It was really rather hilarious thinking that the whole town knew everything about me already and I had not even seen all of them. 

"I would like to know your name, considering you already know so much about me." 

The man introduced himself as Grant. 

"Now Grant, I have in this pouch some material that was very valuable on the Moon but I am unsure of whether or not this is worth anything here. Would you tell me?" 

"I can try," Grant stated. He put on a pair of glasses and I spilled the sack onto the counter. Grant's eyes shot out of his head. 

"Gold Coins? Gold is very valuable here, but I have never seen it made into coins. Honey, you'll need to buy a safe when you build your house. This is about a lifetime's worth of wages right here." 

Grant exchanged it into bills and coins and sent me on my way. I did not mention this was just one of about twenty sacks of gold that Skyler and I had. But considering we had to live ninety years on it, I figured that we better be careful with it. 

Ivy took me to the places I needed to go to buy the supplies for a house. I picked a piece of land that was not too far from Ivy and Tobin's home. First, I met with a man who wrote down everything I wanted and drew up a floor plan in about a half-hour. I was amazed. I bought wood, picked out carpets and rugs, tile floors, beds, mattresses, spreads, kitchen supplies, appliances... Everything. I would have never been able to do this on the Moon, but everything that I needed to build a house with was all in one store. They showed me catalogs for a good three hours before I finished. 

We returned to the house to find Skyler sitting at the kitchen table. 

"Hey, Fiona. Where did you two get off to this morning." Skyler said yawning. 

"I told you. I exchanged the gold we had for currency. Then Ivy told me how people do not buy their houses here. Instead, they buy the materials and then the whole town works together and builds the house. We went by the man who designs houses and he helped me draw up the plans. Look." 

I laid the blueprints out in front of Skyler. He looked at them for a minute. The house was to have three bedrooms, two bathrooms, one off the master bedroom, a kitchen, a living room, a study, and a dining room. There was to be a backyard with a pool and a deck. 

Skyler looked pleased and handed me back the plans. "Looks good, Babe. How soon can we get everyone to help us, Ivy? What's the customary amount of warning time?" 

"A day." Ivy said. “Nobody here needs much warning. Everyone merely stops working and we work on the house until it's done. This one is fairly large and will probably be a good two days work for the town. Because of the purchases Fiona and I made, the town should already be planning to help start tomorrow. After the house is done, you will throw a party and invite everyone. Don't worry. Nobody really makes a mess during these things. It is mainly a formality and it is a chance to thank the people who helped build your house." 

I smiled at Skyler. These people were so friendly. And quick. I supposed they got so fast at everything because they only live such short lives. While we spend months planning a house and a year building it, they could grow old. They needed to move quickly. But surely not the whole town would be there. The businesses and the armies could not just stop. I figured that I should not ask any more questions. I should just sit back and watch. 

The next two days went swiftly and sure enough, the house was built. It was amazing. I bought the furnishings to make it look like my old room in the bedroom and bathrooms since I knew Skyler liked it. The living room had overstuffed leather (plastic) furniture and had a pine coffee table and a pine bookcase. We bought books to go on them and to Skyler's delight, he had never read any of them before. 

The kitchen was all pine too, with a pearl-colored refrigerator. We had bought all the kitchen appliances and put them away in pine cabinets. The whole house had sky blue carpeting. The dining room had a pine table and four chairs. The study had five bookshelves, a desk, (both oak) and a couch that was brown. The other two bedrooms had queen beds and a bookshelf with a desk and a nightstand. 

Our house, was perfect. After the housewarming party, we really felt like we had gotten to know everyone better. Ivy had introduced me to two of her friends, Victoria and Jessica. They all helped clean up after the party. Skyler walked around the house in amazement. Then he went over to the sink. 

"I'm going to make some tea, do want some?" he asked. 

"No thank you," I replied. 

"Oh, Skyler look at this." I walked over to the sink. There were three faucets. "This one is cold, this one is warm, and this is a new thing. It is an instant-hot. As soon as you turn it on, it gives you hot water." 

"Oh, really?" Skyler put his hand under the faucet and turned it on before I could protest. 

"Yaaah!" Skyler yelled. He had burned his hand. 

"I told you. Instant-hot." 

"I just didn't think it would be hot so,... Instantly!” 

I laughed at Skyler. It was quite funny. 

The next night we invited Tobin and his family over for dinner. It was our way of saying thank you to them for their hospitality. Ivy was so sweet. I thanked her for teaching me everything that she did. She said she was pleased to do it. But she still could not get over the fact that I was sixteen. 

Skyler and Tobin went out into town. They were going to a bar of some sort. The town could not have held more than two thousand people, and yet they seemed to have everything the Moon Kingdom enjoyed. 

Ivy and I walked back to Tobin's house to put the girls down to bed. She offered me some juice and I accepted. 

"Ivy, how many towns are there like this on Tysidia?" 

"Nobody knows exactly. We think about a dozen. You see, the whole planet used to be populated with Trysidians. But then one day Nemesis attacked us, unannounced. We were completely unprepared. We had no armies because we all lived in peace with each other. The ruler was King Willingham VII. All of the royalty was slaughtered as were many of our people. Those of our people that survived were scattered across Trysidia. Our people were forced to live in underground caves for many years. They came up only to hunt food and bring water.” 

“Eventually people started coming out and living on the surface again, once we were convinced Nemesis had left our planet. We built small towns, but this time, we trained armies to fight, in case of another attack from Nemesis. We got reports there have been colonies attacked on other parts of Tysidia. We have now a great army of almost seven hundred men, almost half of the population of our town. Just about every man joins the army. Will Skyler enroll?" 

I thought a moment. It had still not set in with me that we were going to have to get jobs. Neither I nor Skyler had ever worked before. Surely with the amount of gold we had, we could live quite well for about the next forty or fifty years. But I figured as a social obligation that we should work. Besides, we needed to integrate ourselves into society, and a job might be just the thing to do it. 

"I do not know what Skyler is planning to do," I told Ivy. "I will speak to him about it though." 

I had not realized the Negaverse went after innocent people as well as the Moon Kingdom. It was a terrible thing, attacking the poor Tysidians. But as far as I knew, the Negaverse only attacked people they could gain something from. Why attack this peaceful planet? 

"Did the Nemesis just kill of your people, or did they demand something of you?" I asked, trying to determine the cause for the attacks.  
"Well, no. They didn't just kill people. They gouged out their eyes and cut off the hands of each victim. Gruesome, I know. Luckily, they did not get to all of us. We have been living here for twenty years and we have yet to be attacked again. But rest assured, they'll come." 

I talked with Ivy a while longer before returning home. Skyler came in shortly after I did and sat down on the couch next to me. He must have seen the puzzled look on my face. He sat down next to me on the couch and put him arm around my shoulders. 

"What's on your mind, Fiona?" I looked up at his face. He looked so different without the patch. I loved his eyes. They were so warm and loving now, where as the first time we met, they were cold and lifeless. I really had changed him. 

"I was talking to Ivy today about Nemesis. It is definitely the Negaverse, right?" 

"I think so. Why?" 

"She said that more than twenty years ago, the Negaverse, or Nemesis, attacked their planet. They killed many people and not just killed them, took their eyes and their hands. I just do not understand. The Negaverse always has a reason behind what they do. But what could possibly be gained by killing these innocent people? What are they doing?" 

I was frustrated. Skyler pulled my face to his and kissed me. 

"Seren... Fiona, I don't have any idea. All we can do is help them fight. The Negaverse is just violent. There is nothing rational about them. They probably just want to get a foothold in this part of space. Rather than attacking the universe at its strongest point, the Moon Kingdom, it's coming through the back door. But don't worry. The Moon Kingdom and your mother could hold off any invasion." 

"And that is another thing, Skyler. The Negaverse is attacking innocent people. If they had wanted to completely wipe out all life on this planet, they could have done it easily. But they let some of the people live. I just do not understand."  
Skyler pushed me back on the couch and laid on top of me. "You're stressing. Stop it. I am going to get you to relax.” 

Skyler turned me away from him and began rubbing my shoulders. I had not had a massage for a long while. I was very achy and was relieved when his hands worked out the knots in my neck. I felt the brush of his lips against the back of my neck. I sighed. He began to work his way around my neck and up to my ear. 

**Fly On The Wall**

Skyler pulled Fiona's body back into his by slipping his warm arms around her waist. Now with her back against his chest, she put her arms up around his neck and relaxed. She had just given Skyler full access to touch her. She put her head back against his left shoulder. She felt his hands slowly move up the sides of her body and up her arms. He ran them back down, teasing Fiona. He knew what she wanted him to do but he was holding back. 

She felt her body begin to respond. Skyler looked down and saw Fiona's hardened tips through her shirt. He slowly slid his hands onto her breasts. She groaned and squirmed with delight as his thumbs flicked her hardened tits. She felt herself tightening up and wanting more. Skyler let his left hand drop to her waist and then slowly slide up her shirt, running his hand over her stomach. He reached her breast under the fabric and slid his warm hand under her bra. He allowed the other hand to now do the same thing. 

Fiona feeling impatient removed her arms from around his neck and pulled off her own shirt. She glanced down and saw Skyler's hands kneading her breasts under her bra. She lifted herself up and turned to Skyler. She kissed him passionately and began undoing his pants. 

Skyler had his eyes fixed on the black lace bra Fiona was wearing and nearly cried out when he felt her warm hand touch him down below. Fiona discarded his pants and his boxers on the floor. Skyler removed his own shirt. He was now sitting shamelessly naked before her eyes. 

She looked into his eyes and kissed him once more before whispering, "Come on." 

Skyler looked at her for a minute. "Where?" he asked. 

Fiona giggled and placed her hand around his cock. She then got up from the couch and pulled his member slightly. Skyler complied and raised himself off the couch. Fiona led Skyler through the house, still holding him, until they reached their new bathroom. She let go of him and turned on the bath. 

As soon as the tub was full, Fiona grabbed Skyler again and entered the bath, gently tugging him in after her. Skyler, finding this incredibly erotic, got into he bath and pressed her body against the bath side. He kissed her deeply and raised her body up to meet his. His tongue pressed forward into her mouth, gently massaging hers. He ran his right hand down her body. He reached under the water and ran his fingers over her blonde tuft. He then found her clit and began to touch it. Rub it. Soothe it. Fiona gasped out loud, breaking their kiss. She cried out with pleasure as he continued to pleasure her. 

As Fiona continued to squeal, Skyler took her exposed breast into his mouth and sucked. If that wasn't good enough, he took her left breast in his other hand and started to roll it around with his fingers. He pushed her breast up and down and as he did so, he rapidly moved against her G-spot. Fiona let out a scream as she orgasmed. But this night was far from over. 

Skyler let Fiona relax for a while, just letting her sit there, kissing her, talking to her, telling her how much he loved her. Skyler put his hands around her waist. Fiona looked slightly confused. Skyler lifted her gently and placed her body on the side of the sunken bath. The floor was even with the tub's top so she put her hands behind her for support. Skyler spread her legs apart an examined her beauty. He gently touched her clit and saw her shake with enjoyment. Then he put his face against her most personal area and let his tongue penetrate into her body. Fiona groaned. She grabbed his head and ran her fingers through his hair. She had never felt so good in her life. She felt her legs and hips begin to thrust slightly, as she wanted to make love to him. 

Skyler pulled his tongue out of her only long enough to say, "Damn! You taste SO good! You're like candy, Fiona." 

Then he plunged back in. Fiona orgasmed again only adding to Skyler's excitement. He raised himself out of the bath and reached for a towel. First, he dried off Fiona, letting his fingers 'accidentally' slip off the towel as he passed her breasts. Then she took the towel from him and ran it all along the length of his body. 

Skyler carried Fiona into their bedroom and laid her on the bed. Fiona gazed into his eyes for a while before she said, "Now I want to pleasure you." 

Skyler protested by taking Fiona's shoulders in his hands as she was about to plunge her head down onto his cock. "Oh no, you don't. This is about me getting rid of your stress. I can't let you..." 

Skyler was cut off. Fiona used her power and pushed his body down against the bed, letting go of her shoulders. Fiona sat between his legs and lightly massaged his balls. She tugged gently on the tiny hairs along with them, teasing him, causing him to cry out in delicious agony.

She took her moist tongue and licked the entire underside of his balls and up the shaft but not over the head. She repeated this motion until Skyler was completely wet. On her last lick, she licked the underbelly and then placed her mouth over his head. Skyler cried out as she tried to shove her tongue into him. Then she started lightly sucking on him at the same time that she was flicking her tongue up and down his shaft and head. He groaned with pleasure. She grabbed the lower part of his cock and removed her lips. 

He grabbed her and flipped her over and plunged his body deep inside hers. He kissed her lips and kneaded her breasts as he thrusted needily into her. He orgasmed at this point just followed by Fiona. He pulled out of her after a few more minutes and laid next to her. 

Well, at least I got her relaxed, Skyler thought.


	29. A Strange Discovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, 
> 
> Skyler=Tuxedo Mask  
Fiona=Serena

Chapter 28 A Strange Discovery 

**SERENA**

I loved working at the daycare. I had gotten to know many of the children and through them, many of the people in the town more intimately. The kids grew up it seemed overnight. They would only be in daycare for about two months before they'd start real school. It was frustrating for me. I could barely get to know the kids, and when I finally did figure out how to deal with a particular child, the child would begin school. 

After work, the other sitters and I would go over to one of their (or my) houses and have tea and dessert. There were four other women that worked there: Bianca, Charlotte, Tiffany, and Chloe. We would sit and talk for an hour or two. 

One night we were discussing our own childhoods. I did not know what to say for mine. I made up something around the story I was the daughter of a Moon Delegate and had grown up in the royal palace as a result. I told them of my love for ice skating, and how I was disappointed Trysidia did not have such an activity. 

Then I told them that I had met Skyler at one of the benefits for the Moon Kingdom armies. We fell in love, etc. They were most intrigued by that fact I had been alive so long and yet I only looked a year old (to them). I simply laughed. 

The next day I was working with the kids on an arts and crafts project. I was still a little disappointed we were not going to have a baby. I was somewhat sad all day, but I did not show it. 

I was helping a little girl named Abigail with the scissors when she stopped and looked at me. "Do not be sad, Serena. You will have a baby with Skyler someday." 

She looked away and continued working. She called me Serena! And she knew about Skyler not being thrilled about a baby. It went to the other side of her desk and I kneeled down to eye level. She looked at me curiously. 

"How did you know my name was Serena?" I asked. 

Abigail looked at me for a long moment. Then she leaned over and whispered in my ear. "I am not supposed to talk about it. The adults don't like it when the kids say anything. They tell us we are liars and that it is just our imaginations. They say we'll grow out of it." 

She nodded and backed away from my ear. 

"Abigail, what am I thinking right now?" I asked. 

Abigail thought about it for a moment. 

"You are thinking about grass," she stated. She was wrong. But even so I knew that she was telepathic. She just had not been trained on how to use the power. 

"Abigail I want you to do something for me, okay? I want you to look at me." 

Abigail put down her project and looked. "Now I want you to think really hard. Now, picture me and the expression on my face in your head. Now I want you to close your eyes and tell me what you see." 

She was quiet for a long time. "You are in a room with lots of seats and there are people in front of you wearing funny clothes. They are dancing and singing and one of their names is Snow White." 

She nailed it. This little girl was telepathic. I thanked her and walked over to Tiffany. 

"Tiffany, I need to ask you something. Outside." 

"Alright, Fiona." 

Tiffany walked over to Chloe and told her she and I would be outside. 

"Tiffany I have a strange question for you. Now it is going to sound odd, but it is not a joke." 

"Yes?" 

I shut the door to the room. "Do you ever feel like you can read people's minds by seeing visions?" 

Tiffany was silent. She looked at me for a moment and then asked, "Why?" 

I explained. "I am telepathic. Many people in the Moon Kingdom are." That was kind of a lie. The only telepaths were the royalty. But she did not know that. "I have been around telepaths all my life. Now I just got told by one of the girls that I should not be sad because Skyler will have a baby one day. She also called me my official title in the Moon Kingdom and nobody knows what it is beside me and Skyler. That girl is an untrained telepath and I have a feeling that the rest of this town is too. All untrained telepaths." 

Tiffany glared at me a while. Then she glanced away and started to fumble with her dress. "Yes, I can see things." she finally admitted. "But we are told by the elders that we are just crazy or that it was a coincidence. Sometimes they say that the gods are just sending us visions to help each other. We aren't supposed to mention them." 

"Tiffany you have a gift! If you learned how to use it, rather than run from it, you might be able to hold off Nemesis better." 

Tiffany said that she could not do anything but told me to talk to the elders if I thought it was that important. 

That night I talked to Skyler about the Tysidian's abilities. He just smiled and nodded. "It figures you would find some way to help these people fight the Negaverse." 

He sighed and touched my cheek, brushing a free strand of hair from my face. "Tomorrow we will go to the elders and tell them of the discovery." 

That is what we did. We went to the elders the next day and sat down in their meeting room. There were five of them. They really were not elderly, they were just in high power. I guessed the youngest one was two, and the oldest, probably five. 

"What can we do for you?" The head of the elders asked. His name was Samuel. 

"Well, my name is Fiona and this is Skyler," I introduced. One of the elders leaned over to Samuel and whispered something in his ear. Probably telling about our background. 

"Oh, yes. Joshua here tells me that you are the couple from the Moon Kingdom and that you were abandoned here by Nemesis. I have heard a lot about you." 

"Um, yes. Well, I came here today to tell you that I have found something that would help the Trysidians fight Nemesis." The elders all looked at me and at each other. They were obviously intrigued. 

"Continue." 

"Well, as you know, I come from the Moon Kingdom. And there are many differences between the people there and the people here. However, I seemed to have stumbled across a similarity. The people in the Moon Kingdom have special powers. One of these powers is the ability to read minds, sense emotions, and see the future. It is an ability called telepathy. It is a genetic gift given to us by Miota, the same person who gave us the silver crystal.” 

“Now, I know this may come as a shock to you, but I believe your people have the same gift. You see, I was speaking with this young girl yesterday in the daycare that I work at and one of the girls was able to read my mind not once, but twice. If she was coached on how to use her abilities, she would be able to detect any new or unwanted presence in or around the town. That is why it would be such a great asset to the armies. They could sense attackers or intruders, and be able to fight more efficiently.” 

Fiona paused for a moment. “Now, I understand you do not like your people to talk about the visions, but they are a rare gift, and they should not be stifled, but encouraged." 

The elders were stunned. Up until now, they had considered the visions a horrible thing to covered up and now here I was, marching in here telling them it was a gift. I hoped this would go over alright. 

They left the room to talk about my proposal, leaving Skyler and I alone. They spoke outside the door for a long time. Then they re-entered the room and said, "Have you, yourself been trained?" 

"Yes. I have spent the last eleven years of my life using these powers." 

"So can you look at someone and know everything about them?" 

"That would require a great deal of time and energy. I doubt if your people would have the ability to do something so elaborate. However, you must understand, I do not read into everyone I know. I only read their thoughts if I have their permission or if they have harmed me in some way. That is one of the first lessons you learn when you are taught how to use power.”

This was the first of many visits with elders. After weeks of negotiations, the elders agreed to let me begin training the people. The first ones to learn were the children. I got permission from the elders to probe a child's mind completely to find out what they were capable of. 

Tobin volunteered Lina. He said he trusted me not to hurt her. I woke up early that morning. My body ached as I stretched and yawned. Skyler, peacefully sleeping next to me slowly opened his eyes and grinned at me. He reached over and pulled my face close to his. 

"Morning, babem" he yawned and kissed my cheek. 

"Morning," I got up from bed slowly. I did not want to leave the warmth of the covers. When I finally did manage to drag myself out, I headed straight for the thermostat. I cranked it up to seventy-five and proceeded to get a shower. When I emerged, Skyler took his turn while I dressed. He and I headed out the door, without breakfast and proceeded to a counselor's office. 

When I arrived, the elders, Tobin, Ivy, Lina, and Stephanie were already there. I almost felt late, even though we were still fifteen minutes early for the appointment. We all said our greetings and we sat down in a small conference room. 

"Now what will you be exactly doing today, Fiona? What will this procedure entail?" Samuel asked while glancing down at a notepad of paper. He obviously still had a lot of questions for he must have had four pages full of notes in front of him. 

"Well, first we will sit down and I will try to get her to relax. Then I will envision her mind joining as one with mine. Then my 'mind's eye' will relay the messages of her thoughts, desires, capabilities, anything that has gone on or that she has ever felt, into visual form. For instance, if she likes to play tag, I might see her laughing and running from me yelling for me to chase her. Of course, part of telepathic training is partly learning how to interpret visions." 

"I see. Is there any possibility this will hurt the girl?" Samuel questioned glaring at me. I could tell he was still not sure that this was a great idea. I had not yet earned his trust and it would not be easy for me to do so. 

"No. No possibility. The only possibility is if I did something intentionally," I stated. 

"How do we know you won't?" Joshua barked, all of a sudden protective of Lina. 

"Sir, if I had wanted to hurt anyone, I would have done so by now. You would have never have known of my capabilities and I could have done whatever and nobody would have tied me to it. Why do something now that you know?" 

"She has a point, Joshua," Jeremiah, another of the elders stated. Joshua seemed perturbed and merely folded his arms and leaned back in his chair in a huff. 

They continued questioning me until they felt we were ready to begin. I cannot say I was accustomed to other people judging me. After all, I had been the Princess of an entire Kingdom. The only people who had ever had the audacity to question me was Tuxedo Mask. Ironic actually, that out of all the people in my Kingdom, I ended up loving probably the only one who disliked me. 

I sat Lina down in a room by ourselves. The elders, Tobin, Ivy, Stephanie, and Skyler watched through a one-way mirror as I began to probe her mind. I put my hand on her face and told her to relax. Lina was very trusting and was actually looking forward to this. I could sense it even before we started. 

I just sat there looking into her mind. I knew everything I needed to in an instant. I took my hand away from Lina and told her, "That is all. We are done." 

I took her hand and we left the room. We joined everyone on the other side of the mirror. I made my report. "Your people are very strong in this ability. That is why despite your attempts to suppress it, it still is present. Your people have the ability to see into people through the use of a vision. With that comes the ability to project an image into another's mind. Then there is the most shocking power. You have the ability to summon energy within or without of your body and blast it at your enemy. I take it that sometimes when children or adults anger, there might be a burst of light that is released at something or someone, thus destroying it. Correct?" 

I was. The elders were amazed and with that immediately allowed me to train the children. The children on Trysidia took to their abilities much faster than the children on the Moon. I suppose that made sense, considering that everything had to be quicker for these people. 

Next, I began training the armies, who did not take to the power quite as quick. They eventually got it and afterward were more confident in their ableness to fight Nemesis. I trained twenty-four people on how to instruct others and they helped me train people faster. 

Soon the whole town was trained. After a particularly long day of training, I headed for bed. It had been intense and I needed to relax. Skyler came into our room and walked over to me. 

"Hey, you. Miss me?" he asked. I nodded and carefully draped my arms around his shoulders. He brought my mouth to his and kissed me. 

"I missed you too." He said after a moment. He scooped me up in his arms and gently placed me on the bed. He climbed onto the bed with me and laid his head against my chest. 

"I am so happy here, Skyler. Everything is going so well." 

We had lived here for close to a year now. 

"I do not know what I would be doing with myself if I was still on the Moon. I would have died without you." 

I began lightly running my fingers through his hair. He sighed. "I do not know what I would have done without you, Fiona. You have completely changed my life, even before we came here. I look at things and people so much different now. I love you so much."  
He squeezed my body gently. Skyler tilted his head and kissed my neck. "I have a great idea." He said. 

He got up and pulled me across the room with him. He opened the bedroom door and we ran out of the house. 

"Where are we going?" I exclaimed. He had pulled me outside and although it was only moderately cold because of the summer, I still felt as if I needed a coat. We were heading towards the hills that were not too far out of town. 

"Skyler, I am barefoot!" I called. I was tired and I did not like running through the dark like this with no shoes. Heaven only knows what I could have stepped on. 

Skyler, rather than take me home, picked me up and carried me as he ran into the surrounding brush. He ran for a good ten minutes before we came to a clearing. I could see a huge waterfall coming out from the side of the mountain. There was a pool below it and it filtered out into five different streams. Skyler approached the side of the waterfall and walked right into it. 

"SKYLER! I am soaked!" I exclaimed accusingly as if he did not already realize this. My clothes were drenched now. To my surprise, there was what looked like a cave on the other side of the falls. Water had pooled inside making it completely secluded. 

"We need some light," Skyler told me. "Princess, would you do the honors?" 

I looked into his eyes. They had the reflection of the three moon's light that circled Trysidia in them. The light showed through the water at the mouth of the cave. Enough to see outlines, but not enough to see anything clearly. 

He set me on my feet. I knelt down to the water. I summoned some of my energy and touched the water. The pool lit up in an iridescent aqua color. It was beautiful. 

Skyler began to strip off his clothes and, to my dismay but not surprise, he jumped in. 

"Come on, Serena!" he called to me. I groaned. I was tired, but I could not say no to him. I stripped off and jumped in after him. The water was surprisingly warm, probably because of the energy I had released into it. 

We swam around a while and it ended up in a splash fight. I laughed. I had never done this type of thing with Tuxedo Mask or Skyler before. Skyler swam over to me and put his arms around my waist. He pulled me close and whispered in my ear, "Happy anniversary, Serena." 

Anniversary? I had completely forgotten. Today was the anniversary of the day that we met three years ago. "Happy anniversary, Tuxedo Mask." 

**Fly On The Wall**

Tuxedo Mask pulled away from Serena slightly but she wrapped her arms around his waist and coaxed him back. He bent his knees just enough so that he was at eye level with his shorter love. She pushed her body closer and brushed it against his, causing him to become aroused. 

Tuxedo Mask kissed her gently, encasing her small body in his warm grasp. Their bodies pressed together now, Serena felt him getting harder. She kissed him more deeply. 

Tuxedo Mask began to travel up and down her back with his hands. He felt Serena's hardened nipples being pressed into him and he broke the kiss. He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, and then down the side of her neck to her shoulder. He grabbed her hardened tip and rolled it between his fingers, evoking loud, sensual cries of delight from Serena. Tuxedo Mask then placed his lips on her other breast, stroking it with his tongue, over and over.

She held the back of his head and wrapped her legs around his waist, beginning to move her body against him, even though he was not yet inside her. Tuxedo Mask groaned as he felt this new movement and let her breasts gently fall back into the water. 

With her still around his waist he walked to the edge and got out of the water. He gently laid her down at the side of the water and examined her body. He spread her legs apart and took a good, long look. He loved the way she looked down there. 

He gently stuck a finger inside her body and began to move in and out. Serena cried out but Tuxedo Mask knew she could do better. He stuck another finger inside and began to move in and out of her body fast. 

Serena shrieked, "Oh, Tuxedo Mask! Make love to me! Please!" 

"As you wish, my Princess." With that Tuxedo Mask guided himself down between her legs and thrust into her, causing them both to moan in unison. They laid there a while just thrusting their bodies together before Serena pushed Tuxedo Mask onto his back while he was still inside her. Serena sat up, with him still buried deep within and began to pump roughly, wanting him deeper. 

Tuxedo Mask reached over and began to caress her swollen breasts, causing her to moan with pleasure. Finally, Serena orgasmed, calling out Tuxedo Mask's name loud enough he worried the whole town had heard. They continued to make love until the early hours of the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's the last of the smut for this series. The wrap up will come in the next two days.


	30. The Attack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skyler=Tuxedo Mask  
Fiona=Serena

Chapter 29- The Attack 

**DARIEN**

Fiona climbed on my back as we headed back to town. It had been an exhausting night, but a memorable one. I knew she had not remembered our anniversary, but I did not give her a hard time about it. We had both been busy and I would have forgotten if it hadn't been for Lucas mentioning he and his wife had just had theirs. 

On our way back to our home, I noticed some dark objects flying around in the sky. At first, I thought they were birds. But then I knew. It was Negaverse preparing to attack the town. 

I sent Fiona home. She ran through the streets yelling, "It's Nemesis! Wake up! They are here! Wake up!" 

I went to the weapons locker. I got my sword and put on a uniform. Fiona didn't want me to fight. I did not have the same mental abilities as everyone else here. I was not royalty in the Moon Kingdom and I was not Trysidian. 

The dark portals opened up above us and soldiers started to infiltrate the town. Boy, would they be surprised! I saw the first Negaverse soldier come to a house. He was greeted with a blast of energy from the owner. He fell back, dead. The training had paid off! 

Our armies had surrounded the town, making a defense perimeter around the edge. Good thing too, because Nemesis soldiers began attacking by coming through the brush surrounding the town so no one could escape. Our men were hidden up in trees, so they could surprise Nemesis by blasting them from above. Several of our troops stayed in town to protect civilians. 

They hardly needed to be there, however. When Nemesis tried to attack the daycare, they were met with not only the experienced and powerful Fiona, but the children combined strength and used their energy to kill over a hundred enemy soldiers. 

Fiona turned in surprise to the children and just said, "Well done." The children laughed. 

Our armies were now better able to defend themselves because they could sense their attackers if they tried to come from behind by using their mind's eyes. 

I fought by the sword against thirteen men considering I had no other line of defense. One of them, the last one I fought stabbed my side. I came back to the town wounded. I saw flashes of light everywhere. It was hard to see and I would have been helpless to an attacker. Unfortunately one of the Nemesis soldiers noticed me. He snuck up behind me and threw me to the floor. He stuck his sword in my face and laughed at me. 

"Today is your day to die Trysidian!" He brought the sword up and held it over my chest. As he raised it I heard Fiona's voice in my head. I saw the image flash before my eyes and began to feel tears swell in them. 

"Goodbye, my only love," I said. 

Then I realized her voice had said, "You will not live long enough to regret that mistake, you Harpie!" 

Harpie? She called me, her love, a harpie? That's when I saw what seemed like a lightning bolt hit the soldier above me. He began to shake and turn to a kind of brownish-gray dust. I looked up to see Fiona. 

"Moondust!" she cried with triumph. Must have been a Moon thing. She smiled at me before running back into the fight. She didn't realize I had been stabbed. I got back up slowly. 

The battle was over within two hours. The Negaverse had come hoping for an easy target. They were not equipped for a real fight. They might even leave the town alone completely from now on. There must have been other colonies they could attack, they would most likely just go to those and not trouble with us. 

When I stumbled in the door to our home, Fiona greeted me and told me the Negaverse had retreated. Then she saw me gripping my side. I had lost a lot of blood and was feeling quite weak. She gasped loudly and began to fuss over me. 

She helped me over to the couch and used her own power of telekinesis to heal me. I immediately had my strength returned. I kissed her. "We totally stopped Nemesis, at least for this battle. They left after only a few hours. Oh, Skyler, it worked! And I have other news. I talked to the elder and explained to them why Nemesis was cutting out their eyes and hands." 

She proceeded to explain and I was quite pleased. All of the training Fiona had given them had paid off. I looked into her eyes. It was still not even noon yet. The day was young, even though she and I were quite drained from being up all night and now this. 

We were interrupted when we got a knock on the door. It was a few of my soldier friends. They came in and thanked Fiona for training them. They said the armies would have failed if she hadn't helped. They left after staying a while and talking. 

Then Ivy came over. "Oh, Fiona! They are having a huge celebration tonight! The fight went so well, not one man was lost. On our side, of course. This is the first time any Trysidians have ever won a fight against Nemesis. Of course, we haven't been in contact with any other colonies recently, but we are sending out three people from our town to go find other towns and train them the same way you trained us! Isn't that wonderful?"

"Yes, it is!" Fiona exclaimed. That must have made Fiona feel overjoyed to know she had saved a whole planet from the Negaverse. 

I smiled. Ivy looked at me. 

"Will you and your husband be attending the celebration?" she asked Fiona. Fiona's face fell slightly. I knew why. 

I had been thinking the same thing for quite a while. We were not even officially married yet. We had no ceremony, no rings, nothing. Fiona said we'd be there and went and sat on the couch. Fiona did not know it, but I had already bought her a ring. Custom made. It was a gold ring with one star-shaped diamond and a crescent moon shaped diamond. I had to haggle with Ambrose, the diamond cutter for an hour. He had never cut a star-shaped diamond before. I paid him good though, so he didn't mind. I knew then that I would propose to Fiona that night at the celebration. 

The celebration was huge. There was music and dancing, and the markets had gotten together and prepared a huge feast. Fiona went around talking to everyone in sight. She knew every single person in town, thanks to training all of them. I knew all of the armies, but I was not nearly as talkative as she was. She had been throwing parties and entertaining guests her whole life, while this was one of my first big parties. Fiona may as well have been the hostess, for she was so social, and had practically saved the entire colony. 

I had many of the men come up to me and thank me for training them in how to be stealthy. Between the skills I taught them and the ones they had learned from Fiona, they easily defeated Nemesis, or so they said. 

The dinner was delicious. I enjoyed the atmosphere almost as much as the food. There was music all throughout the meal. I looked over at Fiona. She was so funny. Here I was stuffing my face and there she was, as dainty as could be. She refused to eat anything with her hands. 

Finally, I picked up the biscuit and shoved it in her mouth. To her horror, crumbs and butter went everywhere.  
"Skhuhuh!!" she said as I shoved the biscuit in. I think she tried yelling my name, but when she spoke crumbs blew everywhere. Then she turned to me and blew them all on my shirt. I laughed and then got a mischievous look on my face. I threw some pudding at her but she ducked and I ended up hitting Tobin. She covered her mouth and started bursting out. 

Needless to say, We started a gigantic food fight. I ducked under the table with Fiona who was cracking up. Well, here goes nothing. This is as good a place as any. 

I touched Fiona's face. She looked at me with the biggest smile on her face I had ever seen. I kissed her lips. Fiona saw my serious expression and quieted quickly. She stared at me for a moment as I reached into my pocket. I brought out the tiny box that held her ring. Her eyes widened and I smiled sweetly at her. 

I took her face in my hand and with my other hand, I opened the box and handed it to her. "Serena, Princess. Would you marry me?" 

Tears filled her eyes and she nodded. "Yes, of course, I will!" She looked at it for a long while before I reached in and retrieved the ring. I took her hand in mine and I placed the ring carefully on her finer. It fit fine. 

We let the town fight. We stayed under the table and kissed. When things calmed down we came back up. Dessert was served. It was some sort of cinnamon cake. 

I pulled the cake to my face and smelled it. I had a flash. I saw for the first time my mother's face. I knew it was her. I remembered looking in a mirror as a child and turning to the woman behind me and calling her mommy. Then I remembered the smell. She smelled like this cake. Cinnamon. 

I ate the cake and as soon as I was able, I tried to pull Fiona home. She was reluctant to leave. She was chatting with everyone still. Ivy had noticed the ring and there was a gigantic squeal fest. Everything said was in a high voice. 

"Oh, how sweeeeet!" 

"AAAAH! You're so lucky!" 

"It's BEAUTIFUL!" 

"Oh my God!" 

"When is the wedding?" 

"That's so adorable!" 

"I wanna get married!" "

That's a beautiful ring." 

There were various screams and squeals going on the entire time. The men gathered around me and Tobin shook my hand. 

"Way to go," he said. 

The other men just said, "Yeah." 

We sat down. That was it for us. We continued to watch our women swoon a while before someone Alexander came over to me and said, "Oh my stars! It's so beautiful!" in his falsetto, purposefully lisping all his 's's. 

Then the other men gathered around me and started mimicking the ladies. We all turned and laughed at how when we started squealing like them, they all stopped and glared at us like we were the strange ones. Didn't they know how stupid they looked? 

I finally got Fiona home. I sat her down on the couch. 

"Serena, I remember. I remember my mother's face. I was in a fancy room and I remember her face. She smelled like cinnamon. She had short brown hair that was always in a loose bun, and she wore burgundy dresses that came to her ankles. She had high cheekbones and blue eyes. Serena, my mother was..." 

"The Queen of Earth!" She screamed. Tears filled her eyes once more and she threw her arms around me. "Oh, Darien!!" 

Memories flooded my mind. I remembered everything. From Nanny Wildman, to the crash, to my mother, my crush on Serena, to finding my way to the center, then meeting Serena, falling in love with her again. It was complete. 

I told Serena all of it. She sat in amazement as I revealed the reasons for running away and how I had done it. Everything was explained. I felt finally complete. She was relieved to now have all the gaps filled in. We made love all night, for the first time as a Princess... and a Prince.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww. The finally knows who he is and has his princess by his side.


	31. The Truth Bared

Chapter 30- The Truth Bared 

**SERENA**

I woke up in the morning next to Darien. It all fit together. I was so happy. I reached over and brushed his cheek with my lips. 

"You do realize this means that we could have children and still keep the pure bloodline," I stated. 

Darien sat up. "You're right! We could go back!" His face fell. "Do we really want to?" 

I stared for a minute, silently urging him to explain. 

"I mean, we have lives now. We have a house, friends, jobs... Do you really just want to walk away? Besides, these people could use our help. Everyone back there won't miss us." 

He turned away from me, his feet now hanging off the bed. I sat up and came behind him, putting my arms around his shoulders. I kissed his neck.  
"Honey, I know. But I must say that I do miss my family. And my friends, and my old life. I know we have it good here. But think about it. Your other will never know that you are still alive, my mother and friends think I am dead. Is that really fair to them to have lied and now live our lives like nothing's changed now knowing what we know? It is not right."  
"It is not right what they did to us in the first place, Serena. They banished me because I didn't have the right blood type. They put power over love. We are not like that." 

"But we will rule one day if we go back and we can change things." 

Darien turned and looked me in the eyes. He sighed. "Well Serena, you gave up your life to be with me. I can give up this one to make you happy. We'll go back." 

I hugged him. "Thank you, Darien, my Prince." 

"Will your power work this far away?" he asked. I had not thought of that. The Silver Crystal was how I transported to begin with and it was still in the kingdom with my mother. I did not believe that I could connect with it this far out in the galaxy. I have to give myself a boost of energy to propel my body from one place to another. If could not create the boost... 

"Well, there goes that idea." 

"Not necessarily," Darien stated. Darien told the town about our problem. He said that we had found a way to go home, but we needed their help. Some of the people did not want us to leave for the reason that if Nemesis came back, they might not be able to win. Darien assured them that with the help of the other colonies they would be fine. They had already received word by telepathy that they had found another colony. 

Besides, they had solved the mystery of why the Negaverse was killing them and took their eyes and hands. It was the source of their power. The eyes of a telepath and the hands of one who can shoot energy would bring a great deal of energy to the Negaverse. Considering they were in the business of stealing energy, the Trysidians who had not even realized their power had made perfect targets. It also explained why so many were allowed to escape the first sweep. 

The Negaverse had planned on letting them procreate making even more energy. A sort of energy cultivation. They had separated them over the planet to try and make sure that they did not join forces against the Negaverse's attacks. That would no longer be the case now that the Trysidians had realized their powers. 

We convinced the whole town to get together and they summoned their energy. We said our goodbyes and Serena summoned all she could get into her scepter. 

We stood in the middle of a giant circle of people and we managed to transport back to the Moon. Serena and I landed in her room. Serena had concentrated on landing there. 

The room was just as she left it. I guessed her mother had probably not accepted the idea that her daughter was gone and was therefore still holding onto her things. She got in one of her old gowns and she reached for an old Tuxedo. 

We stepped out of the room after she did her hair back up in the buns. A court meeting was being held. The servants all gasped and were stunned when they saw us walking down the hall, her arm linked in mine. We pushed open the doors to the meeting hall. Mouths dropped to the floor and the room fell silent. "Mother, I have an announcement."


	32. A Surprise Ending

Chapter 31- A Surprise Ending 

**DARIEN**

Serena explained how we had run away together to the Court. Everyone was overjoyed to see Serena alive. However, everyone was not so pleased to see me. 

Serena's mother cried and embraced her daughter. She then embraced me to the shock of both me and the Court. I returned the hug and she took me outside with her. Serena's friends rushed to give her hugs and kisses as we left the room. 

Serenity took me to a small room with two chairs in it. She sat down and pointed at the other one, offering it to me. She read Serena's mind and had discovered who she thought I was. I could just tell.  
She had taken me away to question me, but didn't want to get my parent's hopes up by announcing it in front of them. 

"Where were you born?" she asked. I realized she wanted me to prove who I was. 

"Earth." 

"What is your Mother's name?" 

"Augusta." "Do you have any powers?" 

"I do but I've never used them." 

"How old were you when you ran away?" 

"Nine." That meant I was twenty-one now. 

"What happened?" I continued to answer Queen Serenity's questions until she was satisfied. 

"Welcome home, Darien," she said finally. We walked into the Court to find everyone seated again but arguing. When Serenity entered the room fell silent. "May I present to you, Prince Darien of Earth." 

My parents began to cry. My mother ran to me and kissed my face. "But how? Oh, Darien! You are back! I'm so sorry, Darien! I should never have doubted you when you told me about Natalie Wildman!" 

I gathered my mother in my arms and held her against me. She sobbed. I never thought of the fact that my mother could have blamed herself for my running away. I always figured that the emotions I felt were because my parents didn't love me, but from the memories I now had, and with my mother weeping in my arms, I knew otherwise. 

I left with my parents and we talked about everything. We were a family again. 

**SERENA**

I had a long talk with my mother. We made up concerning the verdict and the faked death. I told her about my life in Trysidia. I loved her so much. We cried and she told me of how devastated she was when she thought I was dead. The fake noose and gown had worked just as Darien and I had planned. 

Next was the hard part. Darien and I met with all the Princesses the next day. Lita and Mina came in first. Lita burst into tears and threw her arms around her sorely missed best friend. Mina and I cried as we hugged and everyone took turns holding each other. 

Two months later Prince Darien and I were wed. The Kingdom was overjoyed to have two members of the royal family back in the palace. We had our own wing. We honeymooned on Venus but we did not see much daylight. 

**DARIEN**

We made love all night the day after returning from our honeymoon. Afterward, I couldn't sleep. I finally remembered who I was. It felt great. I looked over at the beautiful girl sleeping by my side. I was so glad to finally be with her, on the Moon, no more lies or conspiracy, and going by our real names. 

I came out of my daydream and found her looking at me. She had a smile on her face as she gazed into my eyes. 

"I love you, Serena," I told her. 

"I love you too, Darien," she replied. She looked away and rolled on her back. Then she spoke. "Oh. By the way. I have been meaning to tell you. I am pregnant."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original A/N: ~Hope you enjoyed~ =) 
> 
> My A/N: I wonder if he fainted again when she said that? I was half tempted to say he didn’t but I decided to leave it off where the original author stopped. This was a long process but I will admit I had fun working on it. I hope you enjoyed this story of a Princess and Prince finding a way to come together through adversity.


End file.
